JN Stories by firepearl
by Pearl22
Summary: Stranded...but this time Jimmy is stranded with Libby and Betty, who find out that they CAN'T stand each other. While Jimmy has to put up with arising catfights, Cindy is stuck with Sheen and Carl trying to rescue them. Who will go insane first? JC
1. At the first sight

At the first sight

**Disclaimer: I do not own (and never will) Jimmy Neutron or anything related... great...I'm crushed...**

_A/N: Okay...here's the deal: Since my computer refuses to let me press all buttons here (e.g. submit review, or certain buttons, that are necessary to create a new plot...) I'll put all my stories into this one plot. (Which I opened at another place)_

_The first is a one-shot...well it's explained in the original A/N below._

_The second is a story about Jimmy's dinner with his soon to be parents in law. And knowing our dearest characters, this will be a hell of a chaos! _

_The third one is a one-shot (to find at 'chapter' 9). It's a bit sad. Cindy is really down, when Jimmy doesn't trust her. But he had his own reasons, for that…_

_The fourth is a story,(to find at 'chapter' 10) where Jimmy get's exposed to the truth serum...and tells unvoluntary the citizens what he thinks of them...much to his own disadvantage._

_The fifth story (to find on chapter 14):Stranded...but this time Jimmy is stranded with Libby and Betty, who find out that they CAN'T stand each other. While Jimmy has to put up with arising catfights, Cindy is stuck with Sheen and Carl trying to rescue them. Who will go insane first? I think that explains it_

_Hello everyone! I'm firepearl and this is my first fanfiction ever. And since I am a huge JC shipper it's my duty to start that way... with a little JC oneshot. Feel free to flame, to review, to chew me out...I'm a big girl I can stand that. And please tell me all the errors I made, for English isn't my mother tongue and I want to improve my writing skills!_

The car rolledslowly along the road. A nine-year-old boy with brown hair and blue eyes looked thoughtfully outside the window. An unfamiliar surrounding passed his very eyes.

"_Well that is it, Goddard…"_ he said quiet to his mechanical dog, while he patted his head.

" _That's where we're going to live now…_"

His mother turned her head and gave him a warm smile_. "Sweetie I know you're sad, but I'm sure you will find new friends soon…"_

She looked lovingly at her son. Jimmy nodded unsure, pressing Goddard tighter against his chest. At least he had one true pal with him. His father continued_:" Yeah Jimmy, time to leave the things behind and show this Retrovillians what the Jimster can do, huh? Into a new life… I wonder if there will be ducks in our new life… "_

His mother shook exhausted her head, while Jimmy hopefully asked_:"Can I use them as genuine pigs?"_

"_Jimmy_!"

rang the strict voice of his mother.

"_No experiments with the neighbors, is that clear?"_

Jimmy nodded disappointed. But soon he remembered his old class. He hasn't been exactly the most popular boy… well from the rational point that was a logical consequence after all he'd done with them. He'd explained them, for science there are sacrifices to bring, but after he messed up with the hair of some girl, they wouldn't listen. Suddenly Jimmy shuddered…_Girls_… it was unimaginable for him, to think that one day his hormones would force him to actually like girls… but he was quite sure this won't happen to him.

"_That's the way it stays, huh Goddard_? _Just the two of us_!"

Goddard licked happily his face and barked in agreement.

"_Honey, we're there!"_

Jimmy got off the car and observed the area. In front of him was a very welcoming looking house. He felt immediately he was at home. His mother carried her suitcase to the porch and pulled out the key.

"_We already brought the furniture and our stuff here, so all we have to do is to come in and start our live in Retroville…"_

Jimmy couldn't help but laugh. How could someone name a town Retroville? He took a look at his new room. His mom has been very creative, for the whole room was rocket themed. He smirked at Goddard_:_

" _Oh I could've fun here…"_

As he watched outside he discovered a small wooden hut.

"_Hmm..."_

His parents told him he could have his own clubhouse…

"_Well Goddard seems like the perfect place for a lab, what do think?"_

Goddard barked satisfied and Jimmy started planning. But when he jumped on his bed, he heard his mother calling_:_

" _Jimmy dear, come downstairs please! We want to get our neighborhood to know!"_

Jimmy sighed. He had hoped he would have more time, before he met other people, especially other children. Nevertheless he obeyed his mother. They just left the house, when the discovered a men and a women across the street.

"_Hello there neighbors!"_

Jimmy's father shouted. The couple turned their heads, while Jimmy's family crossed the street. The woman looked a little confused, but also somehow…annoyed when she took a long look at them. Jimmy's mum introduced themselves.

"_Good morning, we are the Neutrons! We just moved in here this morning… I'm Judy, this is my husband Hugh and here my son Jimmy…" _

The women shook his mother's hand.

"_Vortex, pleasure to meet you…I guess"_

Her look fell on Jimmy.

"_Well your son has just the same age as our daughter…"_ J

udy smiled brightly.

"_Oh that's great! Huh Jimmy?"_

Jimmy put on a fake smile.

"_Oh...Yeah… great…"_

He echoed. Of course his neighbors had to have a daughter. How much bad luck could a boy have? Probably his mother would force him to spend time with this girl, to get the neighborhood to know.

"_Stupid girls, all they've got in their head are ponies, fairytales, dancing and clothes…"_

he thought disgusted. Mrs. Vortex turned around and opened the door of her house.

"_Cynthia! Get down please and say hello to our new neighbors!"_

she yelled.

"_Coming mom!"_

came the response. Footsteps could be heard. The adults started a conversation. _"Are these from the house across the street?"_ a young female voice asked. The adults didn't seem to notice. Jimmy sighed annoyed. Great, now he had to talk with some silly girl all alone…

His eyes widened. A really pretty girl with the cutest pigtails he'd ever seen stood in front of him. She wore a loose pink shirt and black pants and was a really adorable sight. His hands started shaking a bit and his thoughts went slower than usual. As their eyes met and he looked in her bright emerald eyes, his heart began to beat as fast as never before. They were so deep yet so brilliant and sparkling. High intelligence was hidden in these beautiful eyes. Tingles spread all over his body. A shiver ran through his spine. "_What the hell is wrong with me?"_ he thought desperate, while his cheeks burned. In the last second he could suppress a dreamily sigh. He never felt something like that before. It was pure bliss.

Cindy has been doing her Tai Chi practicing, when her mother asked her to come down. She sighed. New neighbors? She had heard a few days ago, these new people had a son. Now she would have to talk to some foolish boy. Yes, he would be stupid. At least she was the smartest kid in school. She sighed again and stepped outside. Suddenly her 

heart skipped a beat. A quite smart boy stood in front of her. He had a very …_unique_ hair shape, but somehow she couldn't help but smile. He was cute.

"_Eww did I just think that?" _

she asked herself. Nick was cute. Not some kid like that. But when she looked the boy in the eyes, butterflies rose in her stomach. She felt as if she'd been electrified. They were sapphire blue and deep like the ocean… and something told her that this boy was very special. It was something in his gaze that melted her inside. Intelligence lay in his gaze, curiosity, as if he wanted to analyze the whole world. Warmth, caring. Her heart beat raced as she stared at him. She felt happy, simply happy. He was adorable.

Jimmy felt, as if it was to warm at this place. He couldn't take his look from the girl. She was enchanting. Both blushed madly and smiled sheepish. Her smile was incredible, so sincere and beautiful…

"_No, wait that's wrong… "_

,his mind screamed all of sudden.

"_Error…Error… Error…"_

Something was overwhelming him. Everything was wrong…

"_System Shutdown… "_

Jimmy couldn't take it any longer. He glanced a last time at her, and then he turned around running straight into his house. At the same moment, he turned around, he heard a door slamming.

Cindy's thoughts went crazy. She felt how her cheeks got a crimson blush. Her lips formed a smile. A real smile, not like these she faked, when she played as innocent as an angle. This was her real self and the boy returned it with the most charming smile she'd ever seen_… _

"_That's wrong! It's just some silly boy!"_

She had to do something. Her mind searched desperate for a solution, while her heart was filled with overwhelming joy. Without any warning she slammed the door. Confused she stood still. What had this feeling have been? For a few minutes she did absolutely nothing. She could still feel the butterflies in her stomach. Cindy shook determined her head. She was supposed to swoon over Nick. He was the coolest guy at school and she did her best to act like all the other girls fawning over him. Why she did so was clear… Nick was _in_! She tried hard to get his attention, because that was what girls were supposed to do. She never had felt anything like that for him… not a bit. It scared her. Nick could never overpower her; she was always master of her thoughts, emotions and actions. At least she was nine years old. It wasn't normal to feel what she felt right now. Something had grabbed her heart. And for the first time she was really, truly scared…

Suddenly she got angry. No boy was it worth to scare her. What the hell did this strange kid think, he was? No one would outsmart Cindy Vortex! And at this very moment, she realized that this boy was her worst enemy. He was THE enemy number one, the person she had to put down. Anger rose in her.

"_Oh you will see, what's like to be my enemy_!"

she swore. But when she went into her room, she peeked out of the window. And the damn butterflies returned…

Jimmy went straight upstairs and fell on his bed. He didn't understand what just had happened. There was no rational explanation for it. Never before had he such a feeling for a girl. His heartbeat still raced at the thought at her_. _

"_Just some stupid girl, nothing more…. I don't like girls…think of something important… the lab…"_

he continued eagerly with his plans for his lab. But from time to time he caught himself glancing through the window, hoping to catch a glimpse of her.

"_What the heck…? Agh! __**I don't like girls**__!"_

he screamed. And he recognized that this girl was the worst. She brought him to act totally stupid. Jimmy Neutron wasn't stupid. _"And you won't put me down!!_" he yelled. He would show this girl, what he was made of!

But yet he felt his heart beating faster, whenever he thought of her…

Judy looked confused around as she heard a door slamming.

"_But what…?"_ she asked. The other parents were just as confused as her. Mrs. Vortex shrugged clueless.

"_Seems, as if our children couldn't stand each other at the first sight…surprise..."_

she added sarcastically. Judy nodded slowly.

"_Yeah… seems as if there was __**something**__ at the first sight…indeed"_

she replied knowingly.

"_Well, time will tell…"_

A little smile pulled at her lips, at this thought.

The End

_So what do you all think...yeah I know they're maybe too young to feel like that... but I love the idea of love at the first sight... I can't help it. Now review! And if nobody likes it... I'll go crushed home, nursing my broken heart while bursting into tears LOL. No. please tell me what you think...I read most of the stories here and you're all great guys (I hope...) so it's important to me to know what ya think...blablabla haven't ya reviewed yet?! love firepearl_


	2. Mother in law the: living horror

Mother in law- the living horror

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron! But I do own my dreams AND YOU CAN'T TAKE THAT AWAY FROM ME!!**

_A/N Hey folks, this is firepearl again! Thanks to all of you who reviewed my story! Greetings to all of you!! Since my computer is too dumb to let me create a new plot, I decided to trick him (Hah-in your face) and put the next story in here as a new chapter… so let's make this like a container for my stories, till I know how to fix the situation (grabs fire sword and threatens the PC)… This is supposed to be a multi chapter story…._

_Oh and thanks for the advice, I reedited this one how you suggested it, acosta perez jose ramiro!_

„Oh…time goes by so quickly…"

Judy mumbled quietly as she was washing the dishes in the kitchen. Hugh entered the room and looked curious at his lost in thoughts wife.

"What_'s _the matter, Sugar Booger?"

He asked smiling. Judy's eyes sparkled wet. She returned the smile and replied:

"I was just thinking Hugh… Isn't it incredible how fast our Jimmy grows up? I still remember the little nine year old boy genius, who used to think all girls have cooties_…"_

Hugh nodded softly his head, smiling broadly as the flood of memories rushed over him.

"Yeah…"he chuckled. "Remember the first day we moved in here? We went to greet the Vortex'…"

Judy continued while giggling slightly:

"…and when little Cindy came down they would just stare at each other… not saying a word, till she slammed the door."

Hugh squeezed his wife's hand gently.

" Oh and when they met later again, our Jimbo would complain about her all evening afterwards… It was love at the first sight, wasn't it?"

Judy nodded, suddenly lost in thought again.

"So true…but wasn't it amusing how much they fought? Jimmy used to think no one had a clue about his feelings but him… "

They laughed cheerfully. Hugh reached for a towel as Judy finished washing.

"Oh he was a sprightly little boy then…doing all these "genius" thingies… oh these were great toys!"

His wife shook barely noticeable her head at the thought of Hugh playing with Jimmy's inventions.

"Nowadays he makes those important big people things…not like back the old days"

Judy nodded.

"Hmm… only dealing with police men…from time to time with the secret service…"

They both smiled.

"Ah the good old peaceful times…"

Judy grabbed a plate and begun to dry it.

"But he grew up… doing more dangerous experiments…battling against intergalactic villains, like in this game show...or this League of villains"

Hugh wagged an eyebrow:"

He got a girl…"

Judy slapped him playfully with her towel.

"Oh he was so cute that day, after the news show… when he got home, his eyes were wide, his cheeks flushed , a sparkle in his eyes… call it maternal instinct, but I knew that instant that something happened between him and Cindy… he held the same goofy smile like you after our first kiss…"

Hugh scratched smiling his chin.

"Hmm… the whole town was relieved when they got together…but I admit I was freaking out a little bit at the beginning… she wasn't exactly the nicest girl you can think of…"

"But she did turn out very nice, didn't she? Besides she had been acting like our Jim all the same…Oh and then came middle school… high school…remember their first real date?"

Hugh laughed loud at that thought:

"Oh I do, Sugar Booger…you wouldn't stop crying and hugging him… I was afraid he'd come late for his date…"

Judy shot him a glare:

"Oh and your "Girls are like pies" talk of twenty minutes before wouldn't have had anything to do with that, right?"

Hugh raised his hands in defeat:

"Don't be angry Sugar…I didn't mean it that way!"

Judy scoffed and grabbed another plate. She stared lost at the wall.

"Iremember the prom, as if it was yesterday…our little Jimmy was very handsome, wasn't he?"

"Sure he was. And Cindy looked adorably pretty. They do fit so well together…I'm sure they spent a wonderful evening…"

"Oh I can tell you, by the happy look on his face, when he came home…hmm…then graduation came… choose of a college…they were so happy, when they went to the same, but after all she's a very smart girl!"

"Well, that's for sure. I always get headaches when we start a normal conversation…"

Judy shook her head. Hugh would never change. But in the end, she loved him for that.

"And now here we go… the last semester and he has proposed to her!"

She wiped away a tear and squealed:

"My baby is getting married!"

"Yes…I'm happy for the Jimster! He found a wonderful girl to marry at the age of nine years… that's luck I gotta say! I'll be glad when she joins our family!"

Judy nodded with a smile:

"Yes I really got it for her… the only thing I pity her for are her parents…the poor girl didn't deserve such snobs!_"_ she fumed.

Hugh nodded eagerly:

"Seriously, the do have some issues, Sugar Booger…I remember the day when they were fourteen and you gave them a piece of your mind!"He chuckled, while Judy blushed embarrassed and snapped:

"What else should I've done?"

_Flashback_

_The doorbell rang. Judy Neutron opened curiously the door, just to find her son's girlfriend at her porch, with suspiciously wet eyes._

"_Morning Cindy…" Judy greeted friendly as ever._

_Cindy looked up at her, smiling weakly:_

"_Good Morning Mrs. Neutron…is Jimmy here?" her voice was a bit shaking._

_Judy frowned a bit and told her:_

"_Sure dear, I'll call him! Come in, sit down on the couch…" _

_She went upstairs to her son's room, shaking thoughtfully her head. She did like Cindy well, especially since she knew how important Cindy was to her Jimmy. She knocked at his door._

"_Jimmy! Come out please!" _

_Seconds later, Jimmy appeared, looking a little bit tired. _

"_What is it mom? I'm a bit tired, since I was working lately yesterday…"_

"_Honey, Cindy is at the living room… I don't know what the matter is, but she seems very down…"_

_Jimmy's head jerked up._

"_What? Thanks mom, I'll see what's up with her!"_

_Judy smiled as her son rushed down the stairs. Hugh appeared and stared questioningly at his wife._

"_Hey, Sugar Booger, what is happening?"_

_Judy shrugged._

"_I don't know, but Cindy just came over and wanted to talk to Jimmy…something bad is up with her, I can tell…Jimmy's comforting her right now."_

_Hugh smiled warmly._

"_Now that's my Jimbo! Wanna see what this is about?"_

_Judy glared at him._

"_We can't! That would be spying…as his parents we have the duty to…"_

"…_Check whether everything is alright!" Hugh completed smiling her sentence._

_A smile formed on Judy's face._

"_That is true…Let's go and __**check**__…"_

_They snuck quietly down the stairs till they reached the middle, listening carefully to the teens' conversation._

"_I wouldn't bother you usually…but I…she's so horrible sometimes and I needed someone to talk to…." rang Cindy's voice in an unfamiliar weak tone. Judy raised an eyebrow._

"_It's okay Cin; really… now what did she say?" Jimmy asked softly._

"_Err…she keeps on doing pressure on me…For crying in the mud, I'm getting straight A's since I started school! But no…it's not good enough, never! There is always a way I could have done better…and she keeps telling me how worthless all my succeeds are, if there could have been something better! She says I'll stay worthless if I don't improve…Can you imagine your own mother calling you worthless? And then she keeps picking on our relationship and how I'm throwing myself away, how I'm damaging the family's image… I just can hear it anymore, Jimmy!" her voice faded away, so she sobbed mournfully instead._

_Jimmy looked pitifully at her and embraced her comforting._

"_Aww Cin…don't listen to that! You're anything but worthless! I know it's hard, but you need to ignore these comments…you can be proud of yourself…after all being the best isn't what makes you "someone"! I should know, I'm a genius!"_

_Cindy tried to gag while she was still sobbing:_

"_Don't let your ego blow your mind away!"she laid her head on his shoulder._

"_But still…thanks, Jimmy…"_

_Suddenly she began crying harder, with Jimmy still hugging her and cheering her up. Judy's eyes narrowed. She was very proud of her son, but simultaneously she felt hot anger dwelling up. _

"_Come Hugh! We're visiting the Vortex'" she told her husband._

"_But Sugar Booger do you really think we should…"_

_But Judy didn't listen to him. Determined, she dragged her husband out to the Vortex' Mansion. A few seconds after they rang the doorbell, Sasha Vortex' face appeared, very annoyed as she recognized the persons in front of her._

"_What do you want, Neutrons?" she asked, her voice full of disaffirmation. _

_Judy gritted her teeth._

"_We came over to give you a piece of mind! How do you dare to make your daughter that unhappy? How…how can you call her worthless, you heartless snob? You have a wonderful little girl, smart, creative, talented and you're treating her like dirt! It freaks me out! How can you have the right to slag your daughter like that! " she screamed in Misses Vortex' face, who snapped angrily back:_

"_What right do you people have to talk with me about my daughter like that? It's none of your business how I raise my Cynthia!"_

"_It is our business, since she sits crying at __**our**__ couch, comforted by __**our **__son, who tries to help her to forget the things __**you**__ said!"Judy shot in her face._

_Mrs. Vortex stared blankly at her. Her voice was cracking:_

"_She cried?"_

_The words hang loosely in the air, till Judy replied coldly:_

"_Maybe you should have cared about your child then you would have noticed…"_

_She twirled around, pulling Hugh back into her own house. Mrs. Vortex stared emotionless at the spot, where Judy has been._

_End Flashback_

"It was great you did that for her, really Sugar Booger_!"_ Hugh assured his wife.

Judy sighed.

"Yeah…Oh Hugh I still can't deal with the fact, my baby is growing so fast…One semester left, then he'll marry her and then…."

Hugh grabbed her hands and looked her in the eyes.

"But we know he'll be in good hands, Sugar!"

Judy smiled and replied:

"I suppose you're right… Well, Jimmy should have said goodbye to Cindy by now...let's go to the living room"

They entered smiling the room and discovered a terrified Jimmy, leaning with wide eyes against the door, breathing heavily. Judy walked concerned towards her son.

"Jimmy, dear…everything's alright?"

Jimmy shook slowly his head and looked terrified into her eyes.

"Cindy…she said, now that we're getting married… I'll have no excuse anymore…she wants me to come over for a dinner…"_ h_e gulped.

"…with her **parents**!"

Judy's and Hugh's eyes widened, as Jimmy looked in horror at them.

_A/N so…that's it! What do ya think? Like it? Hate it? The idea popped into my mind…let's see how his friends will help poor Jimmy….or will they make it worse? What do ya think about Judy? Is she in character? If you like it stay tuned for the next chapter!_

_Oh and please tell me, what mistakes I made! _

_And if no one likes it…well….sniff sniff I'll get over it…in two-three years…._

_GET ME A TISSUE!!sobs and rolls on the ground_


	3. Mother in law: help?

Mother in law- the living horror

Chapter 2

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN JIMMY NEUTRON OR ANYTHING RELATED. NOT EVEN ONE OF THESE CUTE TWONKIES!**

_A/N Hi! Here we go with the next chapter! Thanks to all who reviewed! I wish I could review your great stories, but my computer is a real pain…! I hate this thing sometimes! Well in my thoughts I'm with you… and beg you all to update! Okay now on with the story…_

„Her parents?! " Sheen yelled out. He kicked a stone with his foot "That stinks, dude…" he continued gloomy.

Jimmy nodded eagerly. He had called all his friends after Cindy's horrifying (at least for him) news. Since it was vacation time, Sheen, Libby and Carl have been visiting Retroville too, just like Jimmy and Cindy. They were all in the park, talking about the "event".

"Tell me about it! I don't know how to get outta this mess!"

Carl patted him on the back.

"We're here for you, Jim! Even though we know you're gonna mess up and we have to watch how you're facing your doom…we're here Jim" he tried to cheer Jimmy up.

Libby rolled her eyes. Guys could be so dumb.

"Tell me Jimmy…" she started, "how come after twelve years as Cin's boyfriend, you never really met her folks?"

Jimmy cringed at her question. He stuttered:

"I…um…"

Libby crossed annoyed her arms.

"After all, Cindy is quite often for dinner at your house and she never came whining like a ninny to me…"

Jimmy snapped angrily back:

"My parents aren't nearly as crazy as hers, okay?!They could do anything to me, ANYTHING! If you have to know, Libby…" His eyes narrowed.

But before he could continue, Sheen jumped defending in front of Libby.

"Whoa, Jimmy, cool it!" he shouted." Don't look at my lovely girlfriend like that! She's too delicate, and too weak and too sensitive and too helpless and too…"

Libby shot Sheen a death glare, making him jump three meters away.

"I can take care of myself, thanks!"

Sheen shrugged apologizing.

"Whatever ya need my queen… hey wasn't it a fabulous jump. Only real men can jump like that! " He bragged, causing Libby to have a serious talk with herself about her taste in guys.

To Jimmy, he continued:

"You can look at Cindy like that if you have to… she kinda deserves it…"

Carl nodded in agreement:

"Yeah Jim, no offense, but Cindy's mean!"

Jimmy smirked at them:

"Careful guys, she's my fiancée you know… "

Sheen looked irritated at him:

"Say what? You were the crazy one proposing to her, not us!"

Libby interfered, before Jimmy could retort:

"If you dweebs are finished, maybe Jimmy can answer my question!"

With that she smacked Sheen on the head.

"And you don't talk about my best friend like that!"

Rubbing his head, Sheen mumbled an apologize. Jimmy sighed. He should really find new friends. But then again…those were more fun.

"As I was saying…" he glared at Sheen who raised his hands in defeat. "I already met her mother three times…"

Libby shot a "See!" look at him and he continued:

"Once she chased me with a broom for three hours, the other time she spattered on me with a hose till I was completely soaked and the third time she wanted me to sign a treaty to declare officially that I and Cindy were never together, so…." He left his phrase unfinished.

His friends looked disbelieving at him. Finally Sheen burst into laughter:

"Now we know why Cindy is such a crazy chick!"

Both, Jimmy and Libby shouted:

"She's not crazy!"

And Jimmy added:

"And from all I know, she's not much like her mother…I hope…" he shuddered at this thought.

Libby frowned.

"Okay… so she might not like you…" She caught Jimmy's expression and corrected herself:

"Okay, clearly dislikes you… but in the end what's the big deal? You're just supposed to have dinner with them, not to marry Cindy's mom…"

Jimmy sighed desperate:

"But Cindy clearly said I don't shall make a bad impression…For god's sake she said it's very important to her that I get along with her parents and that she don't want me to disappoint her!"

His friend simply stared at him, for the lack of words. Finally Sheen patted him on the back and said:

"You're doomed, dude! Can I have your stuff?"

Carl added:" Yeah Jim, I always wanted to play with your lab…"

Finding her voice again, Libby burst out:

"Oh please give me a break! **Jimmy**!" she shouted at him.

"Do you love Cindy?"

Jimmy looked confused at her.

"What do you…?"

"I ASKED WHETHER YOU LOVE HER!" Libby screamed, raising the volume of her voice.

Jimmy cringed.

"Yes, I do!"

"Then stop sucking your thumb, you BABY, and stand your man for Cindy! You are going to marry her, so for HEAVEN'S SAKE you have to deal with her parents!! Now are you ready, you moron?"

Jimmy nodded pacifying.

"Yes, Ma'am…"

"WHAT WAS THAT?"

"I SAID YES!"

"I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!"

"**YES**!! "

"WHY DID YOU JOIN THE ARMY?!"

"Huh? Libby what are you…?"

"ANSWER MY QUESTION; YOU FOOL!!"

"I THOUGHT THE ARMY WOULD GIVE MY LIFE A SENSE; MA'AM!!" Jimmy had no clue what had gotten into Libby.

"GOOD!" she shouted and turned around to her wide-eyed boyfriend.

"AND YOU STOP TALKING SO NEGATIVELY, BECAUSE THIS AIN'T DO ANYTHING BETTER!! "

Sheen answered shocked:

"I won't, my mistress of pain and joy!"

But Libby wasn't finished yet:

"AND STOP THESE NICKNAMES CAUSE THEY'RE WAY BEYOND LAME!!"

"Yes…honey!"

"AND ULTRALORD WON'T BE AT OUR WEDDING!!"

Sheen opened helplessly his mouth.

"But Libbilicious I never proposed to you…"

"BECAUSE THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE THE HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE; AND YOUR OBSESSION WON'T RUIN THAT; YOU GET IT?"

"Uh Libby…"

"YOU GET IT??"

"YEAH I GET IT!! BUT WE AREN'T ENGAGED!!"

Libby opened her mouth to shout back…when her eyes grew wide and her cheeks flushed in embarrassment.

"Right…I got a little bit too far carried away…"

The boys looked astonished at each other. Suddenly Libby pointed at Carl, who had listened innocently to the whole scene.

"AND YOU STOP TALKING ABOUT LLAMAS AND GET A GIRLFRIEND, ALREADY OR I'LL SERVE YOUR HEAD ON A SILVER PLATE!!"

Carl nodded frightened. Calming a little bit down, Libby rolled her eyes and stormed off:

"I'm outta here you guys!"

They looked after her. Jimmy looked curious at Sheen:

"And you called my fiancée a crazy chick?"

Sheen shrugged.

"At least she doesn't force me to meet her parents!!"

Jimmy sighed desperate, remembered of his misery again.

Later this day Cindy called.

"_Thank you, for doing this Jimmy, I know my mother can be difficult_…"

"_Oh yeah_…" Jimmy muttered under his breath.

"_What did you say?"_

"_Oh…I'd do everything for you, Cin…"_ "Even this…" he completed the phrase in his mind.

"_Wow…that sounds corny…are you sure you're okay?"_ Cindy asked suspiciously.

Jimmy smiled. After twelve years together, she just knew him too well.

"_Hey, of course… I'm glad to finally meet your…parents_!" he gulped.

"_Yes…I wonder why you never met them before_…" Cindy mused.

"_Um… something came always in between_…" his answer stopped her thoughts immediately. "Or better…I always let something come in between…" he completed in his mind.

"_However, don't be late today okay?! Sharp nine, you get it_?"

"_Yeah, yeah…_" Jimmy muttered absently.

"_Look Jim, I really don't want you to be late, so listen okay?!"_

Jimmy snapped out.

"_Yeah sure, whatever_…."

"_What time are you supposed to be there?"_

"_Sharp…."_

"_NINE, sharp nine, you got it, Neutron?"_

"_Nine okay. Look Cin, it's not if it's a long way to your house…"_

"_Just to be sure… Hey and please don't try anything… weird, okay_?"

"_Like what_?"

"_Oh making our house disappear, or…"_

"_Hey, that happened just once, and you know it Cindy_!"

"_Yeah whatever… just don't use any of your inventions… we all know they'll mess up and then…"_

"_Yeah thanks, I love you…_" he muttered slightly upset.

"_I love you too, Jimmy_…" Cindy's amused voice rang in his ear. His face softened a bit as she continued.

"_You know it's funny…Though we've been together for years people are freaking out when I tell them we're getting married…"_

"_Yeah well… if you hadn't been such a bully when we were little…"_ he teased her.

"_Hey mister don't press your luck!"_ she laughed.

"_However, everyone I met asked me to be invited to the wedding…even Betty Quinlan that little, dumb, slutty…oh! I mean…err…Quinlan…yeah…"s_he trailed off.

Jimmy smirked. After all these years she hadn't forgiven him his preteen crush on Betty. That he never really cared for her, didn't count anything for Cindy. He smiled devilishly.

"_Why don't we invite her, Cin_?"he asked, waiting for the explosion.

"_Wha…? Over my dead body_!" she yelled enraged. Jimmy smiled.

That was his Cindy.

"_Why not, Cin?_" he played dumb.

"_Cause…I…it's not enough space for her…I already invited too many_…" she lied.

"_Then how about she's a bridesmaid? I mean maid of honor is already Libby, but bridesmaid_…"

"_**WHAT?! OH NO YOU JUST DIDN'T SAY THAT**__! __**I'M**__**SO GOING TO STRANGLE YOU!!"**_

Jimmy held the phone away from his ear and grinned. "**Kaboom**!" he thought laughing.

"_Are you jealous, darling?_" he asked innocently, trying to suppress a loud laugh.

"_Ts… jealous…me? Of her? Pf… don't be ridiculous… There's no way, NO WAY… I COULD BE JEALOUS OF HER, OKAY!!"_

"_Whatever you say… I just thought since it's almost tradition that the bridesmaid wears the ugliest dress…"_

He heard Cindy gasp. "Gotcha!" he thought triumphantly.

"_You mean… while I'll be wearing the most beautiful dress on earth… she would wear…and all eyes are on me anyways…and then she… and…JIMMY!"_

He smiled.

"_Yes Cin?"_

"_On the second thought…let's make Betty the bridesmaid!"_ she told him sweetly.

Now he did burst into laughter.

"_You're so predictable, Cin!"_

"_Ts… I wasn't the one drooling over her like a monkey over a banana!"_

"_Cindy… I was eleven years old…"_he stated calmly.

"_Yes…?"_

" _I burned all the pictures for you…"_

"_And?"_

"_I kissed you at the age of eleven then, didn't I? (and many times later, for that matters…)"_

"_Oh please… April and Betty did kiss you then too…"_

"_Yes, but they kissed me. __**You**__ were the only one I kissed on purpose!"_

"_So what…"_ she was just too stubborn.

"_I became __**your**__ boyfriend..."_

"_I know…"_

"_I went to the prom with __**you**__…"_

"_I remember that too…"_

"_I ditched the tutoring for Betty, for being at __**your**__ karate contest, though she wrote a major test the next day…"_

"_Are you going anywhere with that…?"_

"_I've been __**your**__ boyfriend for twelve years…"_

"_Yeah…get to the point, Neutron!"_

"_I proposed to __**you**__, not anyone else!"_

"_You're implying something with that, don't you?"_

"_And I'm going to __**marry**__ you!"_

"_So?"_

"_AND YOU'RE STILL JEALOUS?!"_

"_Well… if you put it this way, I guess I might possibly a little bit overreact….maybe under these circumstances it's…"_she agreed hesitantly. He couldn't help but laugh.

"_Oh please, Cindy…you're impossible sometimes…"_

"_But that's the reason you love me, right?"_

"_I guess so; otherwise I wouldn't go on a dinner with a woman who threatened me with a hose…"_

"_Lucky me! So I'll see you then, sweetie, okay?!"_

"_Yeah sure…"_

"_What time?!"_

"_Sharp…um…"_

"_NINE!!"_

"_Yeah I got it, you don't have to yell!"_

"_I'm warning you! Be late and I won't talk the next week with you!"_

"_And now I'm scared because…."_

"_You jerk_! " she scoffed.

"_Just kidding Cin…I'll be there…nine… meet your…parents…" _Suddenly the horror came back_._

"_Good. And Jimmy?"_

"_Yes?"_

"_I love you, you moron!"_

"_I love you too, Cindy…" _

He hung the phone. Gazing nervously around he sighed:

"Otherwise I really wouldn't do that…."

It was five o'clock now. Only four hours till his doom….ahem the dinner with his fiancée's parents.

Oh holy crap!

_A/N: Oh oh…time is running for Jimmy! The next chapter includes more useless help of his friends! And please tell me your ideas what horror will await our poor Jimmy at the dinner! Hahaha he will suffer!! (I'm too evil) This wasn't exactly the most exciting chapter, but tell me what you think! And even if you want to flame, do it!! Next chapter comes soon…_

_Love, firepearl!_


	4. mother in law :preparations

Chapter 3

_A/N Hey guys! Another chapter! And no…we aren't at the dinner yet! Hope you like it, though! And thanks for all your nice reviews!! _

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN JIMMY NEUTRON! BUT IF I DID, I'D FORCE CINDY TO WEAR HER HAIR DOWN!!**

He tapped nervously with his fingers on his desk. Where the hell were his friends?

"I swear if they say one word about llamas, Ultralord or music I'm gonna kill myself!" He swore, glancing several times at the watch.

Jimmy was in his lab, always the place he felt most comfortable. And god knew he had to relax. Three and a half hours till the dinner… and he was already a nerve wreck. Why did Cindy have to insist that he meets her parents? All he knew about them was that they were capable of ripping him off or anything even worse…

"Why couldn't she just marry me? I'd say 'hello Misses Vortex, bye Misses Vortex, and have a nice life!'"

It could have been so simple. But… nothing was ever simple with Cindy. She always had been the one that whirled like a hurricane through his life. Like a vortex… he smirked about his lame word joke. Cindy would tease him for his lack of creativity right now. He threw another nervous glance at the watch.

'Ten minutes too late, already…'

From the rational point, he surely was acting ridiculous. Just a dinner… with two persons he barely knew… BUT these were Mrs. and Mr. Vortex! The very ones who hated his guts since he was nine years old! He loved Cindy with all his heart, but he wasn't sure whether he could deal with that. What if they chased him away? Would Cindy ever talk with him again then? Or what if they stared at him with this gaze full of hatred? How could anyone expect him not to run away? Or what if they tormented him...maybe Misses Vortex would poison his meal…or stab a knife through his back…or … 'STOP' he demanded. Just two adults in a pink house…wait…what normal person would paint a house pink? Maybe they wanted to look innocent…so no one would expect them to be as evil as they were…no one would suspect a corpse in a pink house…Oh dear lord, he was dead! Why hasn't he noticed the ominous color before, in all these years? He began to panic. What if this was his last day on earth?

"Be sensible, Neutron!" he commanded sharply.

"Cindy trusts you and you want to marry her! Stay calm…for her!"

Where were his friends?!

Fifteen minutes too late, the bell rang finally. Jimmy rushed to the door open knob and pressed it, awaiting his friends to chew them out!

A few seconds later they fell through the trapdoor.

"OW! Jimmy…what happened to the mattress that used to lie here?"

Libby asked while she stood up, rubbing her leg. Sheen and Carl staggered dizzily around, holding one hand on their foreheads. Jimmy replied coolly:

"Oh fifteen minutes ago, there was one but I thought it needed a real good washing…"

Libby rolled her eyes.

"Jimmy, I don't wanna offense ya, but I do have a life next to your troubles with Cindy's …what was it this time, again?"

Sheen raised excited a hand:

" Take me, take me I know!!"

Jimmy stared blankly at him.

"Sheen... how old are you?"

The Mexican seemed to think very hard for a moment, before he replied frustrated:

"Aw man, I liked the other question more…"

Carl interrupted:

"We're here because he's gonna meet…her parents…" he flustered in a dramatic voice.

Out of nowhere a flashlight appeared and thunder growled. Libby, Jimmy and Carl looked surprised around. Jimmy buried his head in his hands.

"See…that was a bad omen… I'm so dead…"

Libby chuckled in disbelief.

"Wow…the day I see Jimmy Neutron believe in omens… Am I dreaming or what?"

Sheen jumped eagerly to her side.

"Oh yeah, I am a dream…my queen…just for you!"

He wagged his eyebrows. Libby smacked him on the head.

"You, mister are lucky that you have a girlfriend! From all I know, I am the only girl that is able to stand you."

Sheen thought about that.

"Hmmm…. But it makes our relationship unique, doesn't it?"

He awaited hopefully her answer, with such a cute pout, Libby had to laugh.

"Oh yes I guess so, you little geek!"

She kissed him on the cheek. After he snapped out of his dazed expression that was caused by her kiss he told them:

" Oh by the way Jimmy, the weather machine is awesome!"

Libby smirked at Jimmy:

" So much to the omens…"

"Excuse me guys, but aren't you aware this is probably the last time you see me? How could you be so late?"

"Llama channel…a special about…"

"Who cares?! Ultralord episode 375 was on and it was soooo…"

"Blablabla…I was listening to the new CD from…hey Jimmy where are you going?"

"Searching for a river, to throw myself into it…" Jimmy replied nonchalant.

"But you'll get a flue, Jim!" Carl cried worried.

Jimmy turned around to face him.

"Carl…" he started slowly "I was speaking of drowning myself…"

"Ahhh…why didn't you say that?" Carl nodded relieved. Jimmy rolled his eyes. Wasn't it good to have friends that cared so much about him?

Libby clapped her hands.

"So you guys…now that we've exchanged the newest geeky talks, why don't ya tell us what you want Jimmy?"

Jimmy frowned:

"I need your help guys! I'm not able to stand through this evening by myself!" he looked begging at them. Libby rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Though this is pathetic… I already bought the wedding present, so I'm in here!" she assured him with an annoyed voice.

"Me too!" Carl said smiling.

"Me three!" Sheen screeched.

Jimmy shook his head.

"Sheen…do you always have to do this?"

"Say what?" Sheen asked oblivious.

"Forget it…what is that college that took _him_?" Jimmy mumbled to himself.

"Well… Jimmy do you have the presents?" Libby asked curious. Jimmy looked bewildered at her.

"Presents?"

Libby slapped her hand on her fore head.

"Oh my goodness… you can't arrive there without pralines and flowers, genius!"

"Why not?"

"How dense are you…do you want them to get furious at you just at the first moment?"

Jimmy shuddered.

"Hell no…but what shall I buy?"

"I'll get you the flowers! It's important to buy the right color; you know…I have a theory, which flower is perfect for which event…"

At the look at the expressions of his friends, Sheen trailed off. Suddenly he snapped:

"This is manlier then you think!"

Jimmy nodded slowly.

"Whatever you say…Sheen gets the flowers…"

"Oh…oh! I'll buy the chocolates!!" Carl cried excited.

The other three exchanged glances.

"NO!!" the shouted simultaneously

"Why not?" Carl asked hurt. Jimmy patted his friend on the back.

"Carl…I'm sure Mrs.…Vortex… would like to have the chocolates **in** the box…"

Carl shouted angrily:

"I will not eat them, I promise!!"

Jimmy pondered that. Finally he decided to trust his friend. In the end he was dead anyways, so what could it hurt to make his best friend happy?

"Okay, Carl…you'll get the pralines…" The red haired beamed widely at him.

"Are you insane, dude?"Sheen shouted disbelieving. Carl raised threateningly his fist, and Sheen hid behind Libby.

"Soooo… that's the preparation…but what do I do when I'm in this death trap?"

"Just be polite and smile whatever they say!"

"Do I have to smile when they're trying to rip me off?"

"Ya know, you're really ticking me off at the moment!"

Sheen made an attempt:

"You know in the episode of Ultralord, that one he got married, he used his nuclear knees to knock down the evil clone of his mother in law, took his laser bomb, shot down the dog of his father in law, who tried to attack him and bored the mother in law with a laser spear, after she tried to push her daughter down a skyscraper, cause she didn't want her to marry Ultralord and then…"

Libby looked strangely at her boyfriend.

"I always thought this was a children's series…"

"…the curse was broken and everyone was alive again and nice and happy AND **Ultralord saved the daaaay!**" Sheen shouted excited.

Jimmy nodded sarcastically.

"So you're saying I should shoot down their dog with a laser bomb and bore a spear through Cindy's mom, right?"

Sheen shrugged and answered in a deathly serious voice:

"If it works for Ultralord, it'll work for you…"

"Okay…back to the point. What do I say so they won't kill me till the dinner started?"

Carl said quietly:

"To bad we can't tell you what to say during the dinner…Libby always knows what to say…"

Jimmy shrieked happily:" Carl! You're a genius!"

Carl waved nonchalant: "I know, Jim, I know…ahem what was my fabulous idea, again?"

Jimmy pulled out a headset and gave it to Libby.

"Here, wear this and tell me what to do…okay?"

Libby answered:

"So you're saying I hafta listen to the whole thing…I don't know…oh okay, I'm in!" She couldn't wait to gossip about what would happen.

"So…and now I need to check, what inventions to take with me!"

"Inventions?"

"Do you really think I'm going defenseless into that hell?"

Sheen and Carl went eagerly through his drawers.

"Cheese ray…old but still nice…bubble mobile…even older, but if you have to escape, it has to be with _style_…unconsciousness pistol…one person airbag…the tiny monkey army…" Sheen listed. Jimmy was so desperate; he listened to him and put all the things in his hyper cube.

"Dream controller…plant growing thingy…turn flesh into chocolate thingy…parallel dimensions creator… several chemicals… "Carl continued.

Libby raised one hand to stop them. "Guys…do you really…"

But none of them listened. After a few minutes, the half lab disappeared in Jimmy's hyper cube.

Jimmy sighed uneasily.

"Thanks guys… In the end they'll kill me anyways, but I still feel safer now…" Sheen patted his back.

"That's what friends are for, dude!"

Libby rolled her eyes.

"Listen Jimmy… I still think this whole thing is totally stupid…but you're my friend, so listen now carefully…There's a tree in front of Cin's house…we will watch from there and check the situation, okay?"

Jimmy hugged her happily.

"Thanks, Libby thanks!"

Sheen spoke through gritted teeth:

"Get away from my girlfriend, dude!"

Libby rolled her eyes and patted Jimmy on the shoulder:

"You'll make it Jim. Or I'll march in and smack you!"

Five minutes till nine. Jimmy nibbled his finger nails. He held the flowers (which were packed in, so he didn't know what they looked like) tight together with the chocolates. The microphone was in his ear. He had have a shower, had combed his hair…wore nice clothes. And felt sweat running down his forehead.

Judy and Hugh appeared and looked worried at him.

"Jimmy dear, are you ready?" his mother asked quietly.

Jimmy gulped.

"I guess so, mom…"

Hugh patted him on the back.

"You'll make it Jimbo…okay this might be the most horrible day of your entire life…"

"HUGH!"

"…yes sugar booger! But I'm sure you'll make it…I survived it too…"

Judy hugged her son tightly.

"Oh Jimmy, we'll pray for you…"

Jimmy gasped:

"Mom…uh…need… oxygen…NOW!"

His mother let immediately go and smiled sheepishly.

Jimmy smiled weakly back and told them with a shaking voice:

"Okay…gotta go…see you later, guys…"

He went slowly through the door and shut it.

Judy and Hugh stared at each other.

"Poor Jimmy…" they sighed.

_A/N: That's all for today! Do you like it? Hate it? Please review, so I know whether I should continue!! And does anyone have some nice suggestions for the dinner? This was just a filler chapter; the dinner will start in the next chapter!promise But the next update won't come before Thursday…please do not forget me pouts! ...And greetings to all who updated! I still can't review you…life is cruel!_

_Love, firepearl! _


	5. mother in law: the wish to kill Sheen

Chapter 4

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN JIMMY NEUTRON OR ANYTHING RELATED! IF I DID, DO YOU THINK THERE WOULD BE A SLAP CLAP DANCE?**

_A/N: Hello, this is firepearl again! Thanks again to all who reviewed! I feel so lonely if no one reviews… (Snob snob) but hey enough crying, let's go on with…the dinner!_

Thirty steps…his pulse was racing. Twenty steps…he had forgotten to make his will! Ten…nine…eight…seven…six…five…four…three…two…one…

He had reached the porch. Slowly he reached out his hand…

"_Just ring the stupid bell!"_ Libby's sharp voice rang in his ear.

"_Hey cool! Can Jimmy here us through this shiny thingy? Test, test, test HELLO? ANYONE AT HOME? CAN YOU HEAR ME?! ULTRALORD, ULTRALORD ALL HAIL ULTRALORD!! OUCH! Why are you poking me, Libbilicious?"_

"_**Hey, maybe you're scaring him! Voices out of nowhere…that's definitely scary...oh my god! I am a voice out of nowhere too….AH! SOMEBODY HAS TO HELP ME!!"**_

Jimmy sighed. He should have known better, before he let Sheen and Carl climbing up that tree.

"Guys, would you please shut up? I can't even hear my own thoughts!"

"_Cool! I'll think for you!"_

"NO!"

"_There's a house…a pink house…why is this house pink…you have no clue…you know you've gotta go in there…but wait! What if this is a trap? What if you'll die…you feel weak…your heart is racing…should you go in there? But what if not…will you ever see your fiancée again? Do you want to see her again? She's an evil and mean woman…she offended Ultralord! How could you ever look in her eyes, knowing what she did? Yet you're here…you're time is running…is this your last day? Why is here a squirrel? Why is Carl trying to talk to it? You'll never know…Why is Libby looking so angrily at me…AH HELP ME JIMMY!!_

Jimmy bumped his head against the wall. As he was about to decide how to end his life, Libby spoke again, even more annoyed than before.

"_Okay Jim…Ultra freak is quiet…for now! "_

"How is the situation?" Jimmy asked nervously.

"_Oh they've got cleaned their knives and think about when to stab them through you…"_

"What!!"

"_Jeez, Jimmy relax! It's just a living room with a table, some beverages, two completely normal people…"_

" _No Jimmy don't go in there it's a trap!!"_

"_Shut up!"_

"_**You make me nervous, guys…and that's not good for my scapula!"**_

"_Sorry I just got excited!!"_

"GUYS! STOP THAT OR I'M GOING INSANE!!"

Suddenly the door opened. Jimmy spun around and held frightened his breath…as he faced Mrs. Vortex, who wrinkled her nose.

"Good evening James. Was that you, who screamed in our garden?" she asked coldly.

Jimmy's heart beat raced like never before, sweat streamed down his forehead.

'What to say, what to say?' his mind went crazy.

He just stared at the black haired woman in front of him. She had the same eyes as her daughter, but whereas Cindy's eyes held a so lovely expression mixed of intelligence, caring and independence, that melted his inside, her mother's eyes were cold and dark. He gulped.

"_No…Mrs. Vortex. There were some teenagers outside…"_

"_What lame excuse is that?"_

"_**I thought it was pretty good!"**_

"_Are you trying to steal my girlfriend, dude?"_

"_**What did I do wrong?"**_

"_Guys shut the hell up. I'm trying to save Jimmy."_

"_Yeah Carl, don't you see she was trying to save Jimmy? Why do you always mess things up?"_

"_**You were the one who interrupted, Libby!"**_

"_What are you implying to say, huh?"_

"_Shut up!"_

"_Stay out here, Libby. That's a business between me and Carl!"_

"_I'm going to push you down the tree if you don't shut up!"_

"_Yeah as if…oh okay! I'll shut my mouth, see!"_

"_**Please don't get mad. It's not good for my scapula!"**_

Jimmy had to restrain the strong urge to run to that stupid tree and shake all the three of them off. Instead he tried to calm down, looked wincing into Mrs. Vortex eyes and replied:

"No…Mrs.…."

"FOWL!"

"…Fo…uh…?"

"_VORTEX! That's your fiancée's last name you dweeb!"_

"…Vortex…"

"_It was just a joke…!"_

"There were some…trees…I mean outside…uh…teenagers…uhm…yes…." Jimmy stuttered.

If there was any chance he'd survive this, he would definitely kill Sheen. Mrs. Vortex stared unfriendly at him.

"Well, come in then, young man. Cynthia and my husband are waiting."

"_**That's no nice woman!"**_

"_Duh! Look at Cindy and you know what's going on!"_

"_Guys…"_

"_Sorry my queen…"_

"_**Sorry, Libs…"**_

"_Don't you call her Libs!"_

"_What's your problem Sheen?"_

"_In my new Ultralord magazine, they said every single guy would be after your girlfriend if she's beautiful! And for no one is more beautiful then you…"_

"_**Hey! Maybe I'm not single! Okay…so I am…"**_

"_SEE!"_

"_Sheen, calm down. Don't worry. But I have to admit this is flattering in a geeky kind of way…"_

"_**AW…Are you going to kiss? How sweet!"**_

"Could you please discuss your relationship another day?!" Jimmy muttered angrily under his breath.

Unfortunately Mrs. Vortex heard him.

"What was that James?"

Jimmy cursed every single word his friends had said.

"I …uhm…you've got a lovely house, Mrs. Vortex!"

"_That was a good one! I'm proud of you!"_

Cindy's mother stared strictly at him.

"I know."

Jimmy cringed. Why couldn't Cindy have any normal parents?

"Oh…of course you know…I mean…it is obvious…how could anyone not know…?" he stuttered. Mrs. Vortex just raised an eyebrow and continued her way to the living room.

'Great…Now I'm really dead…" he thought, mentally kicking himself.

"_Wow dude, that woman really can't stand you!"_

"_Would you please stop that? Don't worry Jimmy, she just need to warm up to you…"_

"_**But she's as cold as the south pole!"**_

"_That was a lame word joke, dude…"_

"_**So?!"**_

Jimmy went carefully after his soon-to-be mother in law. The hallway was slightly darker pink, with several pictures on the wall. A soft dark red carpet lay down at his feet. He studied the photos. Most of them showed Cindy. He smiled warmly. There was one that was taken, when she was about nine years old. Memories came back from the day they met first. She had been a very cute little girl, with her blonde pigtails. He had immediately fallen for her, even though he realized that two years later, first. It felt awkward to look at the photo… It showed a little child. But now she was the one woman he would marry and spend the rest of his life with…

Well if he would survive this evening.

He felt uncomfortable in this house. It was unfamiliar and the hallway was quite closely. The photos of Cindy's parents almost scared him a little bit. There were only a few, her mother smiled on. A cold hand grabbed his heart. He blinked. For a moment he could have sworn, the people on the photos would stare at him. Observe…

'Be sensible!'

This would be a long evening.

"James, are you coming?" the numb voice of Mrs. Vortex rang. She looked a little bit annoyed, for he was still standing in the middle of the hallway. But before he could answer, she came back to him and looked at the photos. Jimmy felt qualmish to be that close to her, his finger shivered slightly, his mouth went dry.

"Wasn't she a cute little girl?" Mrs. Vortex asked more to herself, than him. He nodded and the smile came back when he looked at the picture.

"So promising to become someone...to have a good life…" she looked bitterly at him. Jimmy cringed. She really hated him. Because he wasn't the one she wanted for her daughter. He gulped. But Cindy meant everything to him, he would try the hardest to make her life a real good one…too bad the woman in front of him couldn't see that.

'Hopefully, Cindy will never listen to her…' He begged in his mind. Of course he felt guilty for such a thought, but he couldn't think of losing her…she had been too long the major factor in his life, so long, he couldn't even imagine a life without her.

And just because of that he had to manage this evening.

However this should be done.

"_This is boring! She did nothing to kill him, yet!"_

"_Sheen…we're here to avoid this, not to beg for it!"_

"_So we are the boring ones? That stinks…"_

"_**Oh you get used to it…at least that's what my doctor said!"**_

"_Carl…you're to often with your doctor!"_

"_**Only a healthy body is a happy body!"**_

"_Ts… who needs that when there is Ultra Lord to make us happy!"_

"_Sheen you're way to much obsessed…"_

"_I was born as Ultra lord's greatest fan, and I'll stay that way!"_

"_But we're twenty three for crying in the mud!"_

"_But __**I**__'m already twenty five! Nyah nyah Miss Smarty pants!"_

"_Sheen…"_

"_What?! Oh….I get it…"_

"_**I didn't get it!"**_

"_You get nothing anyways!"_

"_**Not true!"**_

"_Is true!"_

"_**No**__**!**__**"**_

"_Yes!"_

"_**No!"**_

"_Yes!"_

"_Guys cut it out! You almost sound like Jimmy and Cindy!"_

'Hello…I can hear you!' Jimmy thought upset.

But he had to focus on the evening. He took a deep breath and stepped into the living room.

"_HEY! I can see you! Hello Jimmy!"_

"_Sheen! Stop that! Of course we can see him, for we are looking through the window of the living room…."_

"_You're so smart my queen…"_

"_That's about right!"_

The living room was red with a carpet in a darker shade. A wooden but elegant table was in the middle of the room. The walls were covered with more photos. A giant watch was standing in the corner, ticking softly. The huge window had dark red curtains, which were open currently.

A man with dark blond hair stepped forwards. Jimmy smiled nervously and shook his hand.

"G-good evening…Mr. Vortex…" he stuttered. Cindy's father observed him and broke into a smile.

"Good evening James…" he replied friendly.

Jimmy shuddered barely noticeable. Her father was even more creepy than her mother…he was acting so nice. So he wouldn't suspect him to murder him…to stab him to death…

"Hello Jimmy!" the voice Jimmy loved most sounded. He spun around to face his fiancée…she looked great as usual, with her silky blond hair down and a dark green dress that matched wonderfully her sparkling eyes.

"He--"he caught a glimpse at her parents. Her father bit his lip and stared dark at him, while her mother narrowed her eyes.

"Good evening, Cindy…" he stated politely. She smiled and came closer to give him a kiss, but as he saw how her father clenched his fists, he turned his head away. She looked surprised at him and he decided to hug her at least…but when he opened his arms, he noticed her father tensing his muscles. Afraid he closed awkwardly his arms and shook quickly her hand.

"Good evening Cindy." He repeated quietly. His fiancée had a weird look on her face, but before she was able to say something, Jimmy remembered something. He approached carefully her parents and said:

"Ahem…Mr. and Mrs.…."

"_Mrs. and Mr.! Mrs. Vortex is a prideful person!"_

"Mrs. and Mr. Vortex…I wanted to thank you for this wonderful…"

"_Hey you're a good liar!"_

"Evening…so I want to give you these…"

He gave Cindy's mother the flowers. His eyes widened as she unpacked them.

"_Oh crap…"_

The 'perfect' flowers, Sheen had picked out, were some shaggy tulips. This wouldn't have been that worse…if there weren't little boxing gloves stuck on every blossom!

Jimmy was ready to die. This was so the worst evening of his entire life!

Cindy gasped a little bit and stared astonished and angrily at Jimmy.

"SHEEN!" she mouthed and Jimmy chuckled nervously. His fiancée shook the head and shot him a death glare.

"_Sheen…THESE WERE THE PERFECT FLOWERS?!"_

"_What? I think they have style!"_

"_Jimmy is so going to kill you!"_

'Oh yes I am!' Jimmy agreed in thoughts.

Mrs. Vortex face was like stone, her eyes burned coldly.

"Thank you James…" she stated with a numb voice.

Jimmy chuckled uneasily.

"Well…I heard these were all the rage in Paris…" he stuttered, while blushing madly.

Cindy's mother nodded slowly.

"Well….I expected something like that!" her voice was suddenly full of mischievousness and Jimmy cringed once more.

'Sheen run as fast as you can!'

After this humiliation he took a deep breath and gave the pralines to Mr. Vortex.

Cindy's father observed the box.

"Tuna-strawberry with…roast beef pieces…"

Jimmy's jaw dropped, and so did Cindy's and her mother's.

"Hehe…my favorite…" Jimmy stated weakly.

"_Operation: Presents…failure!"_

"_**But I like these chocolates…"**_

Jimmy was helpless. He had messed up just at the very beginning. He didn't even dare to look at Cindy…he wasn't sure whether she would talk to him ever again. All he wanted to do was to run away to never to return. An icy silence lay in the air.

Finally, Mrs. Vortex spoke up:

"Shall we sit down now, please?"

They walked to the table. Jimmy glanced nervously at her parents, than at Cindy.

'Oh please don't leave me, please sit next to me…' he prayed silently.

Cindy took the seat next to him and though her face was frozen, he sighed relieved.

"Thank you…" he muttered.

Cindy's mother looked bewildered at him.

"Thank you for what?"

'Damn she has a good sense of hearing!'

"_For inviting me to your house…"_

"_But he didn't want to come!"_

"_That doesn't matter right now!"_

"_LIAR! LIBBY IS A LIAR! HOW COULD YOU MY QUEEN!"_

"_**I'm disappointed of you Libby…"**_

"_Just keep your mouths shut, guys!"_

They started the dinner with a fresh salad. It tasted good, but Jimmy had no appetite, for Cindy's parents kept staring at him, the whole time.

"So…James…" Mrs. Vortex started.

"_Now you're doomed, dude…ow! Why do you punch me?"_

"I hope you like the salad?"

"Oh yes it tastes wonderful…" Jimmy nodded eagerly.

"Well I'm glad to welcome you here at our house…for you are marrying my daughter soon, right?"

"Yes that's right… we are going to get wed when the semester ends…"

"Hmmm…" Mrs. Vortex nodded, her cold eyes fixed on Jimmy. No one said a word.

"So when did you decide you could marry my Cindy?" her father asked icily.

The friendly face had disappeared. Jimmy scooted uncomfortable in his seat. Something felt wrong.

"Uh…I did not decide it I just…"

"_You shouldn't contradict…"_

"…I love your daughter very much and so I just asked her and …yeah…" he trailed nervously off.

Cindy smiled at him. But the look of her mother darkened.

"So you just asked her on impulse, right? Just to see whether she would say yes or no?" she asked threateningly.

"No…" Jimmy replied desperate.

"I…I really want to spend my life with her…" None of her parents looked convinced, so Jimmy decided the smartest thing to do was to keep his mouth shut.

Another break followed.

"BORING!!" Sheen cried so loud it was audible in the living room.

Jimmy's head jerked up. Was his friend determined to ruin his life? The Vortex' stared at him.

"Jimmy…what was that?" Cindy asked, slightly upset.

Jimmy shrugged.

"What? I…I heard nothing…"

He went silent as he looked at the faces of her parents.

Mrs. Vortex cleared her throat.

"A good fiancée you found, Cynthia…"

Jimmy turned red, trying to banish the images of Sheen's death out of his mind.

"_Great going, Mister…continue and there will be no wedding!"_

"_**Yeah Sheen you kinda ruined it…"**_

"_Stop picking on me! It's not my fault, Cindy's parents are such snobs!"_

Jimmy sunk down his head. He had the feeling something was very wrong…in his pocket…but what…

BOOM!

The dishes and the salad flew through the air, Mrs. Vortex shrieked. Jimmy stared blankly at the airbag that has come out of his pocket. Suddenly he snapped out and apologized, while he was stuffing the airbag back in his pocket.

"I'm so sorry…Mrs. Vortex…so sorry…" he repeated weakly.

Cindy's mother had gotten salad all over her hair, while Mr. Vortex got the dressing in his trousers. Without any other word, the Vortex parents stormed out to clean their clothes.

"Wait up mom, I'll help you!" Cindy cried while running after her mother.

Jimmy took a plate and bumped it again his head, again and again.

"_That was classic, dude…"_

"_**Yeah…Cindy's mom had salad over all!"**_

"_What did happen there Jimmy?"_

Jimmy sighed.

"WHAT HAPPENED? WELL FIRST YOU'RE GIVING ME HEADACHES WITH ALL YOUR BLABBERING, THEN YOU EMBARRASS ME WITH YOUR 'PERFECT' PRESENTS, SHEEN CRIES LOUDLY 'BORING' OUT AND I MAKE MYSELF A TOTAL IDIOT! AND NOW, NOT ONLY HER PARENTS HATE ME, BUT CINDY TOO!!"He shouted out, sure enough the Vortex' couldn't hear him.

"_Uh…Jim…I meant the airbag thingy…"_

"_And Jimmy, you are used to a Cindy hating you, so what's the big deal…hey what was that look for, Libby?"_

Trying to ignore Sheen, Jimmy answered:

"I'm not quite sure…the airbag was in my hypercube…but actually it only lets things out when I enter the password…so…" He had improved the hypercube over the years and had no clue, why the airbag snapped out.

"Well, if someone would remove the special device on the left, the balance would be disturbed, and the hypercube would let things out without control but…"

"Uh…Jimmy…the device doesn't happen to be blue shimmery and shaped like a raindrop…"

"Oh but yes it is….wait a minute…SHEEN!!"

"_He he… it's possible I removed it and flushed it down the toilet…"_

Jimmy felt like exploding, but tried to cool his temper.

"Why…did you do that…?"

"_Well…I wanted to see whether a created raindrop would mix with real water…"_

"You know…I don't know what to say…a) HOW COULD YOU BE SO STUPID? b) WHY THE HECK DID YOU WANT TO KNOW THAT? c) COULDN'T YOU FIND THAT OUT ANOTHER WAY? d) HOW OFTEN DID I TELL YOU TO STAY AWAY FROM MY INVENTIONS e) I'M GOING TO KILL YOU! f)…"

"_Is there an answer where you say : Good job Sheen, have a cookie?"_

"NO!!"

"_Oh… thought so…"_

"_Let me get this straight: Jimmy is going to continue the dinner with two enraged adults and a defect hypercube, letting out uncontrollably his crazy inventions…right Jimmy?…Jimmy….hello Jimmy…JIMMY!!"_

Jimmy sat straight up, one eye twitching.

"Sheen…I'm so going to kill you!"

"_**Wow…you're saying this quite often today…"**_

"Shut up Carl!"

A few minutes later, the Vortex' came back. Jimmy was nibbling dead his finger nails. When they appeared, he stood up and spoke:

"Once again…I'm truly sorry…don't know how this could happen…"

"Oh yeah! Cause you're a troublemaker!" Mrs. Vortex snapped angrily.

"But…let's continue with the dinner…"

As they sat down, Cindy whispered into Jimmy's ear:

"Please don't do anything like that again…Mom and Dad are really upset at the moment…"

Jimmy nodded uncomfortably, thinking about the hypercube in his pocket…

But if he had thought the evening had been bad until now, he had no clue what was just awaiting him…

_A/N: So that was the first part of the dinner. What will Jimmy await in the next? Will he completely mess up? Will Libby become desperate? Will Cindy notice what is going on? And will Jimmy really kill Sheen? All this in the next chapter! I'm very sorry but there will be no update in the next two weeks, for I am going on holiday to England! Please do not forget me…please review and tell me whether it was good or sucks! So review…I want to know what you think! Still reading this? Review! So I know someone out there reads my story…_

_Love, firepearl_


	6. mother in law its: getting worse

Chapter Five

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN JIMMY NEUTRON! BUT HEY, WHY DO THEY ALWAYS HAVE TO DEPRESS US BY TELLING THIS OVER AND OVER AGAIN?**

_A/N: Hey, here is firepearl once more! After a long break for two weeks, I'm posting now the next chapter…let's see whether Jimmy will lose his sanity…And just to avoid confusion, you might have had in the last chapter:_

_This is Libby:"Libby". This is Carl:__**"**__**Carl". **__And this is Sheen:__ "Sheen"._

_Jimmy's thoughts will be like this: '….', while his actual talking will be like this: "…". _

_I hope you'll like this chapter! And thanks to anyone who reviewed!_

Jimmy chewed uncomfortably his meat. Glancing nervously around from time to time, he felt death glares boring into his very face. Once again the living room was deadly silent. His thoughts wandered loosely around, his facial expression went slowly blank. The tick tack of the grand watch sounded regularly, lulling his mind to another sphere. The room seemed to grow incredibly in size, the furniture danced in front of his very eyes. The faces of Cindy's parents faded as the whole world turned into a whirling vortex of lights and colors. He just wanted to close his eyes, escape from the colors that were tormenting his eyes, escape from this place, this burden. All he wanted was to rest…to relax…to live in inner peace just once…

"DANG! Look at this!"

"_Sheen shut up, will ya?"_

"_**Haven't you heard Jimmy's outburst? Don't make him angry once more; my pants are almost dry again…"**_

"_Eww….GROSS! Scoot away Carl, at least one meter…C'mon, move!!"_

"_If I may ask so kindly, which outburst are you talking about?"_

"…"

"_You are kidding us, aren't ya?"_

"_What? I don't remember anything! Oh no…there's something you know I do not know…or maybe you know that I want to know what you know so you make me know that you know more than me to let me know that I don't know it to make me wanting to know what you know, knowing I can't resist to know what you know, while I know that whatever you know is important for me to know so in the end we all know that there is something you know I want to know but you know you have to tell me to make me know what you know, because I don't know it and…"_

"_SHUT THE HELL UP!"_

"…_**I got lost somewhere in the middle part…"**_

"_HA HA! Taste the superior psychological mind of my very self, mortal one and beg for mercy! VICTORY, VICTORY, you elaborating taste of superiority!"_

"_Wow…I've never known, you even know this words, let alone use' em…"_

"_Who knows? Maybe I'm predestinated for a more fortune fate?"_

"_**Libby, he's giving me the creeps…"**_

"_Maybe I should use my superiority, to bend you all… I could rule an empire…yeah…The Sheenington Empire…posters with my face…huge….giant….oh yeah…every one would know MY name…ME! HAHAHA my face on toothpaste…_

"_Everyone has a special goal in their live, don't they?"_

"_And that's just the beginning…on cornflakes packages…on magazines…on money…OH MY GOD perhaps even on candy paper!"_

"_**I dunno Sheen, if I was an emperor I would…"**_

"_Yes…Everyone would know Ultra Lord….know him, love him, BREATH HIM! Ultra Lord would be RELIGION! AND I HIS MORTAL SERVANT, BRINGING HIS MESSAGE TO MANKIND!!"_

"_I'm totally aware, I'll regret this question later…but WHAT exactly is Ultra Lords message?"_

"_How dare you ask, precious mortal one?"_

"_You, mister are lucky you put a 'precious' in front!"_

"_Though this might make me loose Ultra Lord's faith, I can't restrain your beautiful eyes my queen…You shall know, gorgeous one. Curse your beauty!"_

"_Hey what girl wants a normal boy, if she could have a megalomaniac freak, claiming his love for her during his plans to overtake the world?"_

"_**Oh man…you guys are so romantic…"**_

"_Whatever did I do wrong to end up with you guys?"_

'Welcome to my world!'Jimmy thoughtsourly. 'Would Cindy mind if I just stab myself with this knife…?'

"_Now…unworthy mortals…"_

"_Ahem!"_

"_Uh…I mean shining one and unworthy sneezer boy…"_

"_**AHEM!"**_

"…_hear Ultra Lord's message…"_

"_**HEY!"**_

"_Priceless. Now Llama boy is joining the freak contest…"_

"_**MY NAME IS WHEEZER, NOT SNEEZER! THAT SOUNDS RIDICULOUS!"**_

"_Oh yeah, that's not the only ridiculous thing here…"_

"_You know Libs; I think you spent too much time with the crazy Vortex chick…you almost sound as sarcastic as her…"_

"_Oh my…where did Sheen the emperor of thousand and three dorklands have been left behind?"_

"_Oh right I mean…Don't you be sarcastic in my presence, shining one ore face the consequences!"_

"_What consequences?"_

"_Err… hey don't you interrogate me like this slimy egg at the league of villains back then! I say consequences, so there will be ones to scare the hell out of you!"_

"_Wow…I'm almost dying for fright…"_

"_**AND I'M NOT UNWORTHY!!"**_

"_Huh? Carl what the heck are you talking about, dude?" _

"_**Well you said unworthy Sneezer boy and I…and you…and STOP LOOKING AT ME LIKE I HAVE GONE CRAZY BECAUSE IF I WOULD HAVE I 'D EATEN ALL OF YOU!!"**_

"_Whoa…welcome to freaky town…good to know, what you consider as crazy…"_

"_By the way dude, this conversation has been over long since. Dang, how slow are you?"_

"_**Not as slow as you're reading!"  
**__"How dare you assume I know how to read!!"_

"_Okay now it's getting really senseless..."_

"_Oh…do you mean arrange letters in your head so they make sense? HEY! I can read, and I bet I can better than you!"_

Jimmy groaned annoyed, fortunately barely audible. He wanted so badly storm out there, shake these three pests out of this damn tree and serve them as dinner on a silver plate. The knuckles of his hands turned white as he tightened angrily the grip around his fork. For his bad luck his fiancée caught a glimpse at this and raised questioning one eyebrow.

'You're okay?' she mouthed carefully.

Jimmy nodded eagerly, shoving a huge amount of food in his mouth as a pathetic attempt of proving. Mrs. Vortex shook depreciative her head at this.

"Are you **very** hungry, James?" she asked, her voice dripping of poison. Mr. Vortex observed him closely, waiting impatiently for an excuse for his 'improperly' behavior. Jimmy's palms began to sweat as he managed to answer:

"Well no, Mrs. Vortex…it's just…"

'Darn it!' he thought desperate.' That's exactly the reason these three pains are sitting in the tree. But instead of helping me, they bickering about the most ridiculous things!'

"_Yes Sheen I know the school is a place of horror and tormenting…but still, isn't it kinda hilarious when a twenty –three and a twenty-five year old man argue about who's the better reader?"_

"_Your point…?"_

"_Look…Huh? I think Jim needs our help you guys!"_

'Damn right!' Jimmy bit nervously his lip. The Vortex' stared expectantly at him. He didn't even care anymore what they thought of him. He didn't even care what Cindy was thinking about him. Right now, he came to the revelation; the only way to survive this nightmare was to live from question to question. Screw everything else; he just had to concentrate on a solution to his momentary problem. Otherwise he would leave this house as a maniac ready to enter a nuthouse.

"_You really think so? Duh! I knew this the instant, he started dating Cindy! I mean she's a loudmouthed, sarcastic, violent, arrogant…"_

'Just give me more reasons to kill you…as I wouldn't have enough already, anyways.'

"…_okay I admit sometimes really great friend"_

'Your head's safe…for now…'

"… _but my point is: this dude really needs help and if any of you would have listened to me, I'm sure he wouldn't be in that mess, this poor misguided guy calls life…"_

'Just choose your way of dying, I'll take the care from there on…'

"_Sheen…first of all I meant Jimmy needs specifically our help at this moment. Second…"_

"OUCH!!"

"_I told you hundreds of times not to talk about my girl like that! And imagine…what if these two still would be in denial, bickering their very souls out of their body about the dumbest topics, you've ever heard? Acting this whole 'mortal enemies thingy' that made us all so sick?"_

"_**AHHH Stop that Libby, you're giving me nightmares!"**_

"_Yeah…I get your point. But at least we wouldn't have to see them kissing. Twelve years and it's still kinda creepy!"_

'Heads are going to roll…'

"_Grow up Sheen!"_

"_**Yeah, I saw even their first kiss, and it was kinda cute I have to admit!"**_

Jimmy shuddered horrified. This was the moment he knew one truth of life: Carl had to die too.

"_Whoa Carl! Too much info, dude!"_

"_And third and most important: JIMMY CAN HEAR THIS WHOLE CONVERSATION!!"_

"_Oh my freaking gosh."_

__

"_**I bet he's even madder at you than before, Sheen!"**_

"_That's okay really. Go aside, Libby, I'm going to throw myself down here."_

"_No way mister, this is no solution."_

"_Don't you get it? If I die now, it will be hundred times less pain than what Jimmy will do to me!"_

"_**But actually he could revive you and kill you on his own again…and then you would have to suffer two times…"**_

"_Carl. You're one of my best friends in the whole world, so don't take this the wrong way: I HATE YOU!"_

"_**Hey, I tell it as I see it! Do you…**__sob__**…really…**__sob__**…hate me?"**_

"_ARGHH!! SHUT UP, YOU DORK OF DORKYTOWN!"_

"_**You know Libby, you use the words 'Shut up', 'freak' and 'dork' quite often today!"**_

"_Yeah, guess why?"_

"_It's Cindy's dark influence, I tell's ya, my friend…"_

"_OKAY THAT'S IT!!"_

"_OOOOOWWWWW!!"_

"_**AHHHHHHHHHHH MY SCAPULA!!"**_

The only sound Jimmy could hear, were screams and shrieks. Suddenly he remembered the position he was in. The Vortex' grew very annoyed. He hadn't answered the question and several seconds had passed by.

"Ahem Jimmy…My Mom asked you something I guess…" Cindy stated as calm as she could. Jimmy could see how her gaze darkened, knowing her she was really ticked off by him. He chewed very hard his lip, trying not to think of Cindy's mood and how he was disappointing her in every possible way. He lay nervously down his fork, coughing quietly.

"Yeah…ahem…it's just so…"

"_PAIN, PAIN OH THIS PAIN!!"_

"_**WHY ME? WHY IS IT HAPPENING TO ME?"**_

"…delicious…" Jimmy managed to choke out, trying to ignore the battle he was listening to. He smiled warily, a faked cheerful smile.

"I just can't get enough and…"

Jimmy almost cringed at the looks the two elder Vortexes gave him. Next to him he could sense Cindy growing more disappointed. He was lousy at conversations and his lame comment apparently hasn't made anything better. He chuckled uneasily.

"Yeah…and I…and…forget it…" his voice faded and he turned his gaze to his fork as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world.

"_He screwed it, didn't he?"_

"_**Yup."**_

"_Thought so…"_

"_Yeah, guess why?"_

"_Well, Libbylicious don't get mad at me again, but if you would've helped him instead of smashing our bones, it wouldn't have turned out that bad…"_

"_Sheen."_

"_Yes my queen?"_

"_You're scared of what Jimmy could do to you, aren't ya?"_

"_Well scared would be unmanly…I'm just aware of what much pain he could cause me…"_

"_Now think of the absolutely worst thing he could do to you…"_

"_Uh…o-okay…"_

"_Now of the worst thing, Cindy could do to you…"_

"_OH my…o-o-o-k-kay…"_

"_Now multiply this by thousand and you know what I will do to you…"_

"…"

"_And now I ask again: Are you scared?"_

"…"

"_Sheen?!"_

"_AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"_

"_Sheen!"_

"_AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"_

"_SHEEN!!"_

"_AAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH-okay I-I can't anymore….Carl could you scream for me. Please?_

"_Excuse me?"_

"_**Of course, what are friends for?"**_

"_I don't…believe…"_

__

"_**AHHHHHHHHHHH AHHHHHHHHHHHH OOHHH NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!"**_

"_Uh…Uh… okaaaayyy that certainly is ….something I didn't….expect…"_

"_**AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!"**_

"_C-Carl…."_

"_Okay buddy, now it's my turn again…. AAAAHH-"_

"_STOP THAT, YOU FOOLS!!"_

Jimmy scooted uncomfortably in his seat. He could swear, his ears were bleeding by now. His and Cindy's argument never ever could have been as bad as this rush of nonsense, despite everything the town people told them.

'Just lock them up with these three and see what they prefer!' he thought grimly.

Once again Cindy noticed that her fiancé wasn't quite advertent. She obviously decided to make things worse for him as she asked nonchalant:

"Everything's okay, Jimmy?"

Immediately the heads of her parents jerked up, interested in what he was going to say. Jimmy stuttered quickly a response:

"Yes everything's all right…It's just very warm in here…"

"_LIAR AGAIN!"_

"_**I'm going to have a serious talk with my stuffed llamas about being his friend, seeing how much he's lying today…"**_

"_What?"_

"_**As if this would be so peculiar!" **_

"_Well you see…you know what? Forget it…"_

Cindy smiled comforting. It was almost creepy. Jimmy loved her and all, but in all respects usually she wasn't half as quiet and …well friendly as she was today.

'Have they been brainwashing her?' he glanced accusingly at her parents.

There was only one explanation. He had entered an alternate universe.

Cindy, his Cindy was direct, strong…sometimes quite harsh. Of course she could be very sweet and charming and he loved that confusing mix of personalities… but never ever was Cindy that quiet. She always was the first to talk, whether it was a hopeless life or death situation, an embarrassing moment or just a stunning wonderful moment. Well, he could sense the whole evening how her annoyance and disappointment grew, but unbelievably she harbored it all inside, not losing her temper at all. And for all he knew, his fiancée was quite famous for losing her temper quite too fast. It was just one of her characteristics that made that girl so fiery. Not that he didn't appreciate her 

self- control (which was millions ahead of his own by now…) as it was making things at least a bit easier for him…but he knew her too long as to not notice.

But considering what…ahem…persons she had as parents, he would act just the same, he guessed.

"I'll open the window…"

Jimmy nodded shortly as suddenly his eyes widened in realization. He stared at her as she stood up, stared at his plate, again at her and jumped after her as she already had reached the window, shouting desperate:

"NOOOOOO!"

He jumped in front of the window and stretched his arms as to avoid that she could open it. Her parents, still sitting, looked in surprise at him, Mrs. Vortex still held the fork in her mouth, causing the food to drop down on her plate, not that she noticed at all.

Cindy's facial expression changed from surprise to anger and at last to suspicion. Jimmy cringed inside. Not only had he made himself to an idiot for God-knew-which-time but he also made his fiancée suspicious. And this could never _ever_ been considered as a good thing.

She spoke threateningly and slowly:

"Jimmy…what is your problem?"

"_Actually that's a good question. You know a few years ago I decided to write a book about all of Jimmy's problems. You wouldn't believe how many sites it had in the end. It took a few month of strict research and years of experience but finally I managed to list all of his problems…and guess what was problem number one?"_

"_Oh my…"_

"_Exactly, that blonde mad girl standing over there. Quite ironically, what? I even managed to present this book personally to a publisher…"_

"_Well, what happened?"_

"_He told me before I even could think of writing about other people's problems, I would have to sort out my own. If there was any time left then…"_

"_**Clever guy…"**_

"_Hey, I wouldn't talk, problem number seven!"_

"_Seven?"_

"_Seven. Don't ask me, I'm not going to tell you anything more about this book till it's finally published!"_

"_So which problem have you been?"_

"_Huh?"_

__

"_**Yeah, Sheen we all know you're a giant problem!"**_

"_How dare you? I'm not his problem. I'm there for him to bring Ultra Lord's blessings to him and to explain him his message!"_

"_Riiight….By the way, what was the message again?"_

Jimmy tried really hard to think of an explanation. But he had none.

"I…am quite cold again…I don't want anyone to freeze…"

Neither the astonished expression of her parents nor Cindy's own expression changed.

"_You are screwed dude."_

Suddenly a loud storm of noises exploded, as hundreds of lights bolted out of Jimmy's pocket. Very bright and colorful they whirled to the room as the Vortex' screamed in surprise. Unnoticed by anyone but Jimmy a yellow flash rushed among others through the room and hit Mrs. Vortex precious collection of expensive and old porcelain figures. Jimmy felt his heart beat fastened. No…not the collection. It was Mrs. Vortex treasure, a thing she was very proud of and very serious about. He closed terrified his eyes. No way. But as he opened his eyes again, his fears were affirmed. His inventions almost never failed. (Despite anything Cindy said). He was after all a genius.

And sometimes being a genius meant to turn the holy porcelain figure collection of his soon to be mother in law...into yellow cheddar cheese.

"_**Whoa! Bright lights, pretty, bright lights!!"**_

"_Carl, I'm ashamed. Is there anyone more unmanlier than you?"_

"_**At least my favourite color isn't a girlish purple!"**_

"_Purple is not a girlish color! Pink is girlish! Silver glitter is girlish! Heck, black is girlish, just not purple, you oblivious mortal!"_

"_Actually this isn't important right now. Jimmy is going to be killed by now, either by Cindy or her parents."_

"_Yeah! It's finally getting exciting!"_

"_**You're not a good friend, Sheen!"**_

"_Do you enjoy staring the whole evening at a boring house, while Jimmy is stuttering the most embarrassing things?"_

"_**Good point, I suppose…"**_

The storm of colors hadn't stopped yet. And if it was just to make things miserable, Jimmy felt that the hypercube was letting more things out. He peeked slowly at his feed…shrieked and jerked his head up. He closed once more his eyes and counted slowly…

'One…Two…Three…'

Hundreds, thousands of little monkeys, as big as a thumb danced around his feet. Jimmy slapped his forehead. Why the hell, did he listen to Sheen and agreed to bring the tiny monkey army with him. There was no freaking way in hell, the Vortex' could see that…

Another flash caught Jimmy's attention. This one was light green. Jimmy prayed silently for salvation.

A loud scream, louder than anything before sounded through the living room. Damn. Mrs. Vortex ran desperate through the room; her high put hair had turned into a green, healthy looking plant, with rich, large leaves.

"_Forget anything I said before, this is just classic!"_

"_**It's better than cinema!"**_

"_Do you guys know a good dating service? Cindy needs a new groom for the wedding…"_

The monkeys rushed unnoticed by the shocked Vortex' family through the living room, hiding in every dark corner they could find. The lights faded away, the noise died. Just the plant, which was now Mrs. Vortex hair stayed where it was. Cindy pressed hard her lips together. Her father shook disbelieving his head, not saying a word. And Mrs. Vortex stood abruptly up. She pointed accusingly with one finger at Jimmy, who pressed his back desperate against the window.

"YOU!" she growled, causing Jimmy to whine barely audible.

Mrs. Vortex turned around.

"YOU all sit down now and eat!"

Jimmy said weakly:

"I'm really, truly…"

Furiously Cindy's mother turned around, her eyes on fire.

"SIT DOWN AND EAT!"She yelled bossily.

"Yes Ma'am."

Faster than a second he sat down, as he was told to. Uncertain of what to do, the others did too. Jimmy didn't dare to even look at his fiancée. Libby was right after all. When this evening was over he wouldn't have any fiancée anymore.

Deadly silent they continued their dinner. Suddenly he heard someone gasp over the headset.

"_No Jim…Not…not the collection…"_

Jimmy blinked in pain. Oh yes the collection. The instant one of the Vortex' noticed, he surely would be suffocated with the little now cheese figures.

Dishes clattered. The watch ticked. In the end Mrs. Vortex broke the silence.

"Excuse me…I think I need to watch my collection now…"

Cindy looked surprised at her.

"Now? But why…?"

"I need to calm down…seriously"

'NOOOOOOOO!' Jimmy's mind cried. Pictures of gravestones with his name on them appeared in his imagination.

"_Okay, no panic Jimmy…we'll rescue you!"_

"_Oh we do?"_

Jimmy closed his eyes, really praying for a miracle. Mrs. Vortex approached the cupboard, fortunately looking at the leaves that hung loosely in her face. Just as she was about to look up, the door bell rung.

'YES!'

Mrs. Vortex rushed out the room, with an amazed Cindy staring after her.

"She wants to open the door like this?"

Her father just shrugged. Sending Jimmy a death glare, he stood up.

"If you excuse me…I have to take a break…for a long time…"

With this, he stormed out the room as well.

"_Oh, oh….seems as you're alone with your dearest fiancée…If you survive this, you'll survive everything…"_

Cindy turned around to Jimmy, anger written all over her face.

"WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" she yelled at him. Jimmy stepped two steps back.

"Calm down Cin…relax…relax…"

He could hardly believe anymore he actually was thinking about a Cindy losing her temper, half an hour ago. Because the young woman in front of him was fuming, he could almost see the sparks flying out her very eyes. And now, guess how badly he wanted the brainwashed Cindy back.

"How…COULD…I? This whole dinner is a mess! And worst of all, it has Sheen and Carl's smell over all!"

Jimmy's eyes widened. Dang, why did she have to been so damn smart? He chuckled uneasily…

"Uh…I think we should take care of your mother…Maybe they want to observe her in a lab, by now…"

And he rushed out the door, with Cindy running after him and yelling:

"And whose fault would that be, let's think about that!"

__

"_**Sheen's right…she really is very sarcastic, sometimes…"**_

"_Wonder why, huh?"_

A rather tall man with black hair and a very big moustache stood in front of Cindy's mother. He took her hand and shook it friendly.

"Ah hello, Signora I am…Antonio, I'm bringing the Pizza…very good pizza, I promise…"

Mrs. Vortex stared confused at the man.

"I did not order any pizza…"

"But of course Signora…is a good pizza you ordered, best Italian pizza in town, I promise…"

"Italian? Your accent sounds rather Spanish…"

Jimmy's jaw dropped. A Spanish accent…no freaking possible way…

"Oh but signora, who cares? You say noodle, I say Pasta…you say hair, I say creepy green plant!"

Cindy buried her face in her hands, while her mother shrieked loudly. Jimmy banged his head against the wall.

"_So…how is Sheen doing?"_

Jimmy continued banging his head against the wall. _This _was Libby's attempt to help him?

Mrs. Vortex screamed at Sheen, who replied nonchalant:

"You know signora, I don't know your taste…but this plant is really gross…I couldn't eat a pizza now, I would throw up."

Bang, bang. This could only be a nightmare.

"Look at these thick leaves…and eww…disgusting!"

"BACK OFF YOU …"

"But what about the pizza? Is a good pizza, I really truly promise…!"

"Back off! I never ordered pizza! Now go before I call the police!"

"But then the pizza will be cold!"

"AGHHH!!"

"Why do you order a pizza, you don't even want?"

With a loud noise, Mrs. Vortex slammed the door, her face red with anger. She rushed into the living room, without even looking at Jimmy and Cindy.

Cindy's eyes darkened.

"I will only ask this one time…Has this been Sheen?"

Jimmy coughed desperate. Again he cursed his bad luck.

"Jimmy…what is going on?"

"CYNTHIA! NEUTRON! COME BACK TO EAT!!"

Jimmy smiled apologizing at his fiancée.

"We'll talk later about this…"

After they had taken seat once more, Jimmy heard again the voices of his friends in his head.

"_Well? How good did I have been?"_

Jimmy gritted his teeth.

'Watch your sleep. When I'm through with you, even Ultralord won't be able to rescue you…'

"_Sheen you IDIOT! You messed more up than I ever thought anyone could mess up!"_

"_What harsh words my queen! I thought I was pretty good!"_

"_Yeah…in killing Jimmy!"_

"_**It's quite funny…everybody uses the words 'kill' and 'death' today, but nobody is dead at all!"**_

"_Carl, cut it out. There's no time left to be stupid. My glorious boyfriend has been stupid enough for all of us…at least for three month!"_

"_Hey, it's not my fault this woman has no humor!"_

"_How much humor would you have, if your hair had been turned into a plant?"_

"_A gross plant!"_

"_**Sheen…where did you get the pizza and the mustache from?"**_

"_I always carry a mustache with me, just in case! And I brought the pizza in case it would be too boring…"_

"_**Okay …somehow this is strange!"**_

"_Duh! What's strange about a mustache?"_

"_**Uhm…Everything…"**_

"_NOT THE POINT! Sheen you screwed it!"_

Jimmy gulped bitterly. Though everything had gone wrong, they hadn't thrown him out at least. Maybe there was a tiny bit hope left.

As he looked at his fork, a little monkey was sitting on top of it.

_A/N: He, he it's not over, yet! The next update won't take this long, I promise! Please leave a review and tell me honestly what you think! The only way I know what you think, is to leave a review!_

_Love, firepearl!_


	7. mother in law : worst day ever

Chapter Six

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN JIMMY NEUTRON OR ANYTHING RELATED. THAT'S WHY FANFICTION TAKES CARE OF ALL OF US POOR NOT-OWNER…**

_A/N: Hello! Here is the next chapter! And as I promised, this update didn't take as long as the last one! Well I hope you still like the story! Thousand thanks to everyone who reviewed! You guys brighten my day! _

Sometimes you are in a situation that makes you think it couldn't get worse. And of course something worse would happen just the next moment.

And even if the events of this evening should have taught Jimmy that there was always something worse, his eyes grew to the size of tennis balls.

"_Oh leave me alone! Listen Jim….okay I admit there might be the tiny chance that I possibly messed up a very little bit…under certain circumstances I guess it could be possible to assume that and…hey! Would you please answer when I'm explaining that I am sorry for something, I may have caused, dude?!"_

Jimmy stared blankly at his fork.

'There is a monkey sitting on my fork.' He thought paralyzed.

"_Dude, I can understand you're a little bit upset, but that's no way to treat the Sheenster!"_

Jimmy gulped, his eyes oozing even more out of his eyeholes.

'A monkey…as in hairy, with a long tail and big round ears…'

"_HEY! HELLOOOOOO!! Anyone home?"_

"_**He's too proud…"**_

"_Aw man! Do ya have to play now the sensitive princess, dude?"_

"_**Eww Jimmy as a princess? No way! He is a male!"**_

"_Carl…You know…I'm normally not exactly the brightest guy around…"_

"_THANK the gods, he finally became enlightened!"_

"_Ya tell it, my Libbylicious…HEY! Wait a minute! That's it! This evil blonde creature…"_

'A living monkey…'

"…_has totally overtaken your personality! I, SHEEN!"_

"_At least you remembered your name…"_

"_This happened just ….three times, and you know it ! However, with the authority of being the Emperor of the Sheenington Empire AND the one who won the Super Catch Trial Challenge at Retroland…"_

__

"_**Wow Sheen…Where did you learn to hold such impressive speeches?"**_

"_Oh boy…"_

'The monkey…he's smiling…!'

"_Talent, my poor little llama fellow… I forbid you, Libby Folfax with the chocolate eyes, to ever talk with this vicious girl, you call your best friend, again!!"_

'HOLY CRAP THERE'S A MONKEY SITTING ON MY FORK!!'

"_What. Did .You. Just. SAY??"_

"_I…err….you look lovely in this dress, Libby did I ever told you this?"_

"_Thirty two times this week. NOW REPEAT WHAT YOU JUST SAID!!"_

"_Me? I have said something? It…it must have slipped my mind…by the way your hair is gorgeous today, my darling!"_

"_And…"_

"_You're the most beautiful woman in the whole universe and I couldn't be more glad if I were allowed to lick your shoes…?!"_

"_That's about right! And now look into my eyes and tell me what you just said!"_

"_But honey, I…I said nothing…right Carl?"_

"_**Well actually you forbid Libby to ever talk with Cindy again…"**_

"…"

"_Ha! Uh that Carl! Always there for a joke! Isn't he funny…You got me badly there, Carl…he..he…"_

"_**But Sheen I'm not joking…"**_

"_See my queen…isn't he a classical! 'I'm not joking'…HA! Good laughter I got here, my BEST FRIEND!"_

"_**OW Sheen, you're hugging…me…**__gasp__**…a bit…**__gasp__**…too TIGHT!!"**_

"_No my friend it's just alright…Everything. Is. JUST HOW IT HAS TO BE! You got me, my best friend ever?"_

"_Guys stop killing each other. I'll forget this one time Sheen…but be very careful!"_

"_O-Of course Shining One!!"_

"_**Hahaha…You let control yourself by a girl!"**_

"_No I do no-- he he… I mean…So what?! Jimmy lets control himself too…just look at the mess he's momentary in!"_

"_And you wouldn't happen to have anything to do with it, right?!"_

__

"_Hey! I already apologized for that! But Princess Jimmy doesn't answer!"_

"_**EWWW… Gross pictures in my head!"**_

"_CARL! That's what I wanted to tell you before…That is only a metaphor! He isn't really a princess!"_

"_Wow…where did you learn the word 'metaphor'?"_

"_**Puhhh….now I'm relieved! Although I must confess, I like these shiny dresses they wear…"**_

"_Carl…it's a shame to sit next to somebody as unmanly as you, I have to say!"_

"_**Hey, I had more girlfriends than you!"**_

"_Oh really? Bring it on Llama boy…"_

"A DAMN FRIGGIN' MONKEY!!'

"_**Well there was Elky…"**_

"_One."_

"_**And…Jud…ah I mean June…"**_

"_First of all there is no June. Second, we all know who you mean. And third: YOU WERE NEVER TOGETHER, THAT'S JUST A SICK FANTASY OF YOU!!"_

"_**In my dreams I'll always be…"**_

"_Guys…I think you should keep it down…for Jimmy hears every word you're saying!!"_

"_Oh crap!"_

But Jimmy was to shocked by his own creation sitting on his fork and waving it's tail at him, as to notice the weird obsession of Carl over his mom. Under normal circumstances he would have probably freaked out…But a tiny monkey on your fork is nothing you could call a normal circumstance…

"So James…" Mrs. Vortex started, her voice still shaking with blind wrath.

Jimmy cringed and tried not to look on his fork. Cindy's mother had just found the perfect moment to chew him out!

"…what are your plans after college?" The woman finished her sentence.

Jimmy forgot for a brief moment the whole mess and blinked dumbfounded at Mrs. Vortex. Now…NOW of all moments this woman decided to have a normal conversation?

'What the heck is wrong with her?' he thought in disbelief. He had caused so much trouble and yet she wanted to talk civil with him?

'It's all a vicious plan…' his paranoia came back. 'Escape, as long as you can!!'

The monkey tried to jump off the fork. With a quick movement, Jimmy hid the fork behind his back and coughed nervously. He felt sweat running down his forehead as he caught a glimpse at Cindy from the corner of his eye. He could practically see how her suspicion grew from second to second.

"Oh well…" Jimmy stopped, as something crawled up his sleeve. Something…furry. He did his best not to yelp, as the tiny monkey crawled higher and higher.

"I…am not quite sure where to work, but of course it will be science…" he stated as calmly as he could, although the monkey's fur was horribly tickling his skin. Punished, he lowered his gaze and pictured the salad bowl…and felt a heat rushing through his spine.

'No damn, freakin' way!!'

Desperate he glanced at another little monkey, this one playing happily in the lettuce.

But as he lifted his gaze, the picture was just as bad. With a face of stone and a deep frown Mrs. Vortex bored practically through him.

"Oh yes. Why should you care about your future?! Either way you'll become successful. After all, my daughter is getting married to a _genius…_"

These words would have been pretty nice, if anyone else would have said them. But the tone of her voice made Jimmy nearly crawl under the table. The old jealousy this woman had was still lying very deep. Just to complicate things a little bit more, she wasn't willing to 'forgive' him that he 'stole' her daughter's spot as most intelligent inhabitant of Retroville. So he sat there, cringing for something, he normally was very proud of…

'If she'll ever talk (in a social way) to me again, I'm going to get back on Cindy for this torture!'

He swore silently…and was just remembered that he probably wouldn't have any fiancée after today's evening.

'Shit!' was everything he could think of that. After he had proposed to her, Jimmy had thought that he would have Cindy forever in his life for certain…but this damn evening spoiled everything!

'Focus Neutron…' he commanded himself.

It was too painful to think of losing her…and he certainly needed to clear his mind, to stand through this evening.

"_**I'm hungry."**_

"_What?! You just ate an entire pizza!"_

"_Yeah Carl…hey wait! You ate my pizza?!"_

"_**Err…maybe…"**_

"_That's it, now I'll kill you! You may offence my name, insult my girlfriend…"_

"_HEY!"_

"_Take everything away from me that I love…But nobody…NOBODY eats my pizza!!"_

__

"_**AHHH HELP!"**_

"_Guys?! Was it just time again for a senseless fight, or what?!"_

"_How dare you call my attempt to protect what means the world to me a senseless action?!"_

"_Sheen, tell me please, since when means a pizza the world to you?!"_

"_Since…since…since this moment is so boring!"_

"_Sheen, how often am I to tell you! We're here to take care that everything goes 'boring'"_

"_But that STINKS! I WANT ACTION!!"_

"_Just shut up!"_

"_Pfff…"_

Jimmy glanced nervously at the monkey playing jolly in the salad bowl. His jaw slightly dropped as he observed the room closer. What he saw wasn't quite good to cheer him up. Of course. This whole dinner was as if someone was planning this whole mess from outside, thinking of new ways to cause him trouble. For a moment he felt as if he got into a children's cartoon.

Monkeys were jumping, playing, fighting…whatever...in the lamp, that was on the ceiling. They swung around through the air from furniture to furniture…some were crawling on the floor. The whole living room had turned into a jungle with hundreds of tiny monkeys playing in it. Just by miracle, the two Vortex' hadn't noticed a thing. For now.

"_I see…monkeys! Loads of monkeys!"_

"_Sheen…it's time to give up this childhood dream of yours!"_

"_**Nope. I think this time he really sees monkeys, Libs."**_

"_What are you talkin' abou-- AHHHH!"_

"_You got it, chicky babe…That's the monkey groove….oh yeah!"_

"_**Damn…I wished I knew how to dance!"**_

"_Well, dude not everyone is monkish enough to get the monkey groove…"_

"_Did you just say 'monkish'?!"_

"_Who ? Me? Perhaps? Who knows? Do you have a problem with that?"_

"_Well you see actually this word means…"_

"_Oh please Libby, if I would be interested in such things, I would have paid attention in school!"_

"_Whatever…but the picture is quite amusing…"_

"_**Of Sheen paying attention in school? Or monks getting the monkey groove?"**_

"_Actually…Heck, I guess both! But I guess the monks are more realistic. "_

"_**You tell's it!"**_

"_Huh? What did I miss? Who is talking about monks? I'm talking about monkeys!! See! And you all think I would be the dumb one?"_

"_**But you said monkish!"**_

"_Would you please all stop bringing this word up?"_

"_**See. You are the dumb one…"**_

"_ULTRA LORDS WRATH SHALL PERSUE YOU WITHOUT REST, OBLIVIOUS ONE!!"_

"_Tell me again, why I am going out with you?"_

"_Because I pay your milkshakes, precious one?"_

"_Damn, that sounds about right…"_

"_**Guys…shouldn't we try to do something because of these monkeys?"**_

Jimmy's head jerked up. The memory of their last attempt to 'rescue' him was still way too fresh. He prayed silently.

'No…say no…to face this alone is thousand times better than with their 'help'…'

"_Nope…let's watch the show and enjoy ourselves!"_

'YES!'

"_I dunno…I guess as we're sitting here, it's our duty to help Jim…"_

'No!'

"_**Yeah Sheen, we're his friends after all…"**_

'NO!'

"_Hmmm….sounds about right…__**I'll **__help him!"_

'NOOOOOOOOO!!'

"_Sit back and admire my scary telepathy skills!"_

"_Gosh…"_

'Huh?'

"_Beware…thee monkeys from a place we humans call lab…I …uh…"_

"_SHEEN!"_

__

"_**Four times."**_

"_I knew that! This was just a pause for a dramatic effect! However I the master of the monkeys…"_

"_As you're the biggest one…"_

"_What was that?"_

"_Nuthin…"_

"_Err…demand you to…"_

"_Disappear?"_

"_**To fetch me chocolate?"**_

'To shut me up?'

"_To run away?"_

"_**To go home to their mothers?"**_

'To strangle yourself?'

"_To back off?'_

"_**To die?"**_

'To strangle Sheen?'

"_Whoa what's up to ya, Carl? To hide?"_

"_**To cry?"**_

'To strangle Sheen and Carl?'

"_To shove off?"_

"_**To sleep?"**_

'To strangle Sheen, Carl and Libby?'

"_To get you gone?"_

"_**To eat?"**_

'To strangle Sheen, Carl, Libby and Mrs. Vortex?'

"_To get along with you?"_

"_**To…to…to make 'to to' noises?"**_

'To strangle Sheen, Carl, Libby, Mrs. Vortex and Mr. Vortex?'

"_NO! I…SHEEN demand you to…."_

"_To…"_

"_**To…"**_

'Crap!'

"_DANCE! DANCE YOU MONKEYS LIKE YOU NEVER DANCED BEFORE IN YOUR SHORT POOR LIFE!!"  
_

"_Every time you think it couldn't get dumber…"_

"_DANCE, I tell thee…All hail the Master of the monkeys!"_

"'_Hey Britney who is taking you to the dance?' 'Oh just the coolest guy around. Who is taking you?' 'Oh just the Master of the monkeys…' …I can already picture it…"_

"_**Wow Libby…your date sounds special…"**_

"_Someone please help me!!"_

Jimmy's eyes widened in shock. Cindy's mother reached slowly for the salad bowl. His whole life past his very eyes…and while it did, he seriously asked himself why he kept hanging around these two troublemakers called Sheen and Carl.

"Uh Mrs. Vortex?" he asked panicking.

The older woman lifted questioning her gaze at him.

"Yes?"

Jimmy's mind worked as fast as never before. But what he finally did was really nothing ingenious.

With a quick movement of his hand he pushed a sauce bottle. Red sauce spilled all over Mrs. Vortex dress.

Ignoring her shrieks and hysterical hand waves he replied nonchalant:

"Watch out…"

"_Stupid…"_

"_Haven't you seen the expression in her face? That was priceless!"_

"_I guess I understand now who was Jimmy's teacher in stupid actions…"_

"_Are you implying I'm acting stupid?"_

"_Uh…let me think about this…YES!"_

"_You can't hurt me Libby. This all will be on the list…"_

"_The….list?"_

"_Oh yeah…and one day you all will be sorry your name was on the list…"_

__

"_**Libby…honestly…just between the two of us…why are you going out with him again? Because by now he's really giving me the creeps…"**_

"_Carl there are certain secrets in life…like the Bahama Square…"_

"_Is no secret!"_

"…_Loch Ness…"_

"_Is no…okay is a secret…"_

"…_.the Flying Dutchman…"_

"_Is really a secret…"_

"_Where we all came from once…"_

"_Ultra Lord made us!"_

"_But the greatest and most unsolvable secret on earth is the reason I'm dating Sheen. And as soon as I figured this out, you shall be the first one to know…and I will quit my therapy…"_

"_**Ohh…I'm feeling really honored…I'm an honorary guy…Sheen wished he could fly…Libby is rolling her eye…and Jimmy will soon die…"**_

"_CARL! STOP SINGING! And I never wanted to fly…"_

"_At least he has so many senses left…"_

"_**But what about the time you-mpfh…"**_

"_Nobody wants to hear about that!"_

"_Oh I would like…"_

"_**Well…"**_

"_My best friend and my girlfriend plotting against me…WHY ,OH WHY CRUEL…ahem…I said __**WHY, OH WHY!!**__Hey! Are you even listening to me? Hello! It's not that funny! Could anyone please listen to me when I'm losing my faith into you two? "_

"_Beep. …_chuckle_…Please leave a message…"_

"_What? Oh…oh okay. Hello. This is your boyfriend. Sheen. Well I mean Sheen is your boyfriend and that is me…Sheen. I am losing my faith into you. Libby. That is your name, you're my girlfriend. I want you to call me. This was Sheen talking…me. So please phone me…Sheen."_

"_**Are all his messages this way?"**_

"_You don't wanna know, Llama Boy…you don't wanna know…"_

"_**I wished I had a girlfriend to annoy and tell rubbish…"**_

"_Uh…Are you writing this down in your profile?"_

__

"_**Wh-Which p-p-profile?"**_

"_C'mon don't deny it. On this dating service site…"_

"_**Why…would you think I have a profile on love dot com ? Are you spying on me?"**_

"_She's spying on you?"_

"_love dot com?"_

"_Are you spying on him?"_

"_You really enter a site called love dot com?"_

"_Aha! So you are spying on him!"_

"_**N-no…I do not…"**_

"_Then why would you say that name?"_

"_I knew it! You two were together all the time!"_

"_Sheen shut up!"_

"_Why would you shut me up? Unless the truth is hurting!"_

"_**Sheen you're frightening me…"**_

"_Don't you talk with me, unfaithful ex-best friend!"_

"_**But I never…"**_

"_I knew it since we met that you were trying to steal my girlfriend!"_

"_**You guys weren't even together back then!"**_

"_So this gives you the right to steal her?"_

"_**Well actually yes!"**_

"_So you admit you stole her!"_

"_**What? I never stole her!"**_

"_So you're still stealing her!"_

"_**No!"**_

"_Oh you think you don't steal her because she's yours anyways?!"_

"_Eww…it's getting really creepy…"_

"_**Sheen I…"**_

"_You foul girlfriend stealing…"_

__

"_**IF LIBBY AND ME WERE TOGETHER WHY WOULD I HAVE AN ACCOUNT ON love dot com ?!"**_

"_You…"_

"_**YES I ADMIT IT! I NEED TECHNICAL HELP TO FIND A GIRL!"**_

"_No way…"_

"_**YES BELIEVE IT OR NOT, THE MOST GIRLS ARE ABLE TO RESIST ME!"**_

"_Big shocker there…"_

"_You…HAHAHAHAHA…"_

"_Sheen…stop that…"_

"_HA ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha hah…"_

"_Sheen it's not…uh…that funny!"_

"_Did…hahaha…didn't you listen to him? That's damn funny!"_

"_**Once I find a girl you won't be my best man!"**_

"_I can deal with that, dude. I doubt I would know who to send the virtual ring! "_

"_**Hey!"**_

"_What now? Are you going to send me a virus?"_

"_**No!"**_

"_Or…or will you type me a flame?!"_

"_Sheen you should stop that!"_

"_**That's it! You won't even be invited to my wedding!"**_

"_Puhh…I wouldn't know on which homepage to park my car!"_

"_**Tsss…I will never talk to you again!"**_

"_Oh my…SILENCE!! I'm going to party! Oh wait…my boyfriend is still here…"_

"_As if this would frighten me…Oh look what I found in my pocket…Is that chocolate?"_

Jimmy stared at Cindy's mother and sunk three feet in his seat.

'Oh man I'm dead…' he thought.

'I'd like to thank everyone who helped me to get where I am today. First of all special thanks to Sheen. Without your stupidity and denseness we would miss box glove flowers, embarrassing moments on my credit, a damaged hyper cube, a wonderful pizza boy show and an enlightening 

monkey act. Second I have to thank Carl Wheezer whose tuna strawberry chocolates with beef were clearly a highlight of the day. Without your well thought of comments I'd never be here, holding that speech! Thank you! Not to forget my thanks go to Libby, whose sarcastic comments just encouraged my both friends to continue with their random actions! Thank you Libby for being the backbone of the chaos group! And thank you Mr. and Mrs. Vortex for being such unlikeable snobs! Without your characteristic to scare the hell out of me, I'd never be where I'm right now. Thank you all! Gladly I'm now taking my prize with me, being killed by an enraged, and covered in red sauce salad-woman! Hopefully death will be quieter than you all! Thanks and goodbye!"

Finishing the speech in his head Jimmy felt unfortunately not a bit better. Mrs. Vortex opened her mouth:

"_You want the chocolate, don't you?"_

"Thank you for the warning. Everyone is clumsy from time to time I guess…"

He felt as if the world had let a breath of relief. But the eyes of Cindy's mother told him, that she wasn't by a long shot through with him.

Cindy looked surprised at her mother.

"Mom…uh…don't you want to change your…dress?"

Her mother laughed hysterically.

"Oh…not yet! The evening isn't over yet!"

If possible, Jimmy sunk even deeper into his seat. He just reached for his fork, as the tiny little monkey fell out of his sleeve. His heart stopped.

"_I know you want it…just say it…"_

The monkey sat jolly on the table, waving with his little tail at Mrs. Vortex.

Her eyes nearly plopped out her face.

"I…see…a monkey!" she whispered hysterically.

Cindy's eyes grew wide, she tightened dangerously the grip around her fork.

Quickly Jimmy covered the monkey with his hand.

"Haha...a monkey…very funny…" he chuckled uneasily.

Cindy bored with her gaze through him.

"There is a monkey."

Jimmy waved nonchalant with his free hand.

"Pfff…where should please be a monkey?"

"Under your hand!"

"My hand? Which hand?"

"Your right hand!!

"I'm sorry, darling but what do you mean with 'your' and 'right' and 'hand'? I mean how can a hand be mine? I didn't create it, so can I be possessive about it? And right is relative… do you mean right as in opposite to 'left' or as in the other one is wrong? But how can one hand be wrong and the other one right? You see my point is…"

"MOVE YOUR FRIGGIN' HAND!"

"_Chocolate…chocolate….chocolate…you want it…you want it…"_

Jimmy had good news and a bad news. Good news: Mrs. Vortex was too shocked to say anything. The bad news: Cindy was really pissed off. And this was very, very bad.

"But Cindy…why are you shouting that loud? It's late already….what will the neighbors think?"

"My neighbors are your parents and guess how much I care right now about what they think of me?"

"Why Cindy…since when are you so unsocial?"

Mrs. Vortex stared paralyzed at his hand. Her lips were moving but only few words came out.

"…Monkey….monkey…."

"_Chocolate…"_

Suddenly a monkey swung right in front of Mrs. Vortex' eyes. Her voice shook heavily as she screamed:

"MONKEY!"

"_**OKAY I ADMIT IT: I LOVE CHOOOOCOOOLAAATEEEEE!!"**_

Suddenly everything went very fast. A light bolted out of Jimmy's pocket, this one brown. The whole room glimmered in a brown shimmer…and all the monkeys didn't move anymore at all. Jimmy blinked confused as he realized they were now…

"_**CHOCOLATE!!"**_

Cindy's mother looked scared around.

"There were …living…living…monkeys…and now there is …chocolate?!"

Cindy stood up and took her mother's hand.

"No monkeys mom…everything's okay…go back to eat…"

Shivering Mrs. Vortex did as she was told…her eyes twitching.

"_Whoa…Jimmy made Mrs. V crazy! How cool is that!"_

"_Cool…uh?"_

__

"_I wished my dad were as mad as this lady there…but I guess this has to stay a dream…"_

"_We all have our dreams I guess…some are nice, some are bad….and then there are Sheen's dreams…"_

"_I am unique!"_

"_Yep such stupidity combined with hyperactivity and obsession can be found just once on earth, or we all would be doomed…"_

"_Somehow I have the whole time this special feeling as if you were making fun of me…."_

"_No way…!"_

"_I know it's really weird!"_

"_Oh boy…"_

There had to be a way to clear things up. There just had to be a damn way! But what?

They continued their dinner, Cindy with daggers in her eyes, Mrs. Vortex worked up as hell and Jimmy….well Jimmy couldn't even explain the state he was in anymore.

Suddenly Sheen yelled once more in his ear.

"_Jimmy…Jimmy you won't believe me but there is someone outside here…I guess it's a…burglar!"_

"_Sheen if it was a burglar, you just told him where we are…"_

"_Damn…but maybe the burglar is to dense and hasn't noticed me?!"_

"_Or maybe it was just the shadow of a cat…"_

"_No, Libby…I just know it is a BURGLAR! We have to use our advantage as long as we can….as long as he doesn't sense our presence…"_

"_Then maybe you should stop yelling from the top of your lungs, uh?!"_

"_Okay…you may have a point there….I guess…"_

"_**Guys…you really think something is out there…?"**_

"_Not something Carl…someone…"_

"_Actually we don't know it…maybe it is something…it could be a monster or a ghost or a phantom or a flamingo or something like that!"_

"_**No please no flamingo!!"**_

"_Carl get a hold of yourself!"_

"_**But Sheen…"**_

"_Sheen is hyper and dense so…"_

__

"_You guys hear that? Sounds like…"_

"_**BAD PEOPLE ARE COMING TO KILL US!!"**_

"_Carl shut up!"_

"_Jimmy…We'll go and observe the area …if you hear us cry and scream you know a murderer is ini the garden!"_

"_**Or perhaps you two go and I…uh…check the situation from here?!"**_

"_No way! You're…coming…with…US!"_

"_**But my mom told me to stay away from murderers…"**_

"_So if she told you not to eat anymore, would you?"_

"_**Uh…forgive me mom! No I wouldn't listen to her…"**_

"_See! Your mother shouldn't be in between of you and a maniac murderer!"_

"_**Well…if you put it this way…"**_

"_I just pictured that…."_

"_And who knows ,Carl, maybe this maniac murderer is very friendly! Heck perhaps we may even keep cave for him at his next coup…"_

"_**Well…"**_

"_Hey Carl…ask yourself…wouldn't that be awesome!"_

"_**But how do we talk to him?"**_

"_Oh we have to take the hard men's jargon… you know show him who the boss is…"_

"_If he doesn't die laughing first at your sight…"_

"_**Okay…I get it… How is this: Hello Mister Maniac Murderer…I am Carl Wheezer…I mean the HARD Carl Wheezer…"**_

"_Uh…not bad….practice that and maybe you are allowed to carry the heads of mine and the murderer's prey…"_

"_I'm such a lucky girl! Who else has a megalomaniac emperor, the lord of the monkeys AND a maniac murderer as boyfriend?"_

"_Hey! Who are these other guys? Are you keeping secrets Libby?"_

"_I just wish I could figure the great secret out…"_

Minutes past, without anything happening. It was quiet. Suspiciously quiet. Jimmy had a very bad feeling in his stomach…

The three troublemakers hadn't spoken a word for nearly ten minutes. And as relaxing this was, he wasn't quite sure how to think of that. Slowly he began to worry. Have they been right about the murderer at last? He quickly shoved that thought away. No way. He wasn't going to trust the paranoia of Sheen!

Mrs. Vortex whipped slowly fore and backwards, humming a silly children's melody. Jimmy really didn't want to know how this evening has affected her sanity… and it was his entire fault.

'Cindy is going to knock me into another galaxy…" he thought while glancing around.

As if expected a new light bolted out his pocket and hit Mrs. Vortex on the head.

Cindy jumped up and shrieked:

"What have you done this time?"

Jimmy shrugged helplessly. Mrs. Vortex stood slowly up, her eyes closed. Like a zombie she walked to Jimmy, pulled him out his seat and said with a slow voice:

"Dance…with me…flamingo…"

In front of the eyes of a very amazed Cindy, her mother swung Jimmy quickly around, every of his attempts to break free failed. Mrs. Vortex, still with closed eyes, shrieked suddenly:

"BUNNY!" Shoving Jimmy in a corner, she started running through the room as if chasing something.

"Bunny…Bunny….you wanna have salad?" With slow movements, she began to pull out leaves of her hair, throwing them with a maniac giggle into the living room.

Cindy just stood there, eyes wide. Jimmy was pretty sure she never had seen her mother in a similar condition. Suddenly it hit him…the dream controller had zapped her mother into a random mode. And as Mrs. Vortex bend down to graze like a cow, with Cindy nearly fainting he found his hypothesis affirmed.

Just then Mr. Vortex walked in the room.

"Okay…I think I'm relaxed again…" his gaze fell on his wife, who grazed like a cow in the middle of little chocolate monkeys.

"And my wife is grazing like a cow…" he finished his sentence.

Cindy nodded in shock.

Her father continued nonchalant:

"Well, if you excuse me… I've gotta call my therapist… "

Jimmy asked casually:

"You have a therapist?"

"Oh yes. Since my daughter is going out with you…and the reason is exactly this…"

He pointed at his wife, who began to moo satisfied.

Cindy, now losing her sanity as well said:

"But daddy, you don't have a therapist…"

Her father looked stiff at them.

"Heck! Then it's about time I get one…"

And to complete the chaos a loud **crack** could be heard. From the ceiling fell Sheen, Carl, Libby…and someone else, whose face disappeared in the debris.

"Aw man how cool! We just fell two floors down!" Sheen cried and high-fived with Carl. Suddenly he seemed to remember something and shouted:

"AND we found the murderers!"

He began to beat the hidden persons, but in the crowd of five people everything moved and he missed them. All the five introducers moved hectically around.

Jimmy and Cindy just stared dumbfounded at the scene, while Mr. Vortex cried:

"My HOUSE!!"

"Die murderers!"

"Heck…we are…no murderers!"

Jimmy blinked confused. He knew that voice.

"M-mum?" he asked in disbelief.

The head of his mother appeared slowly. Sheepishly she smiled at her son.

"Hello darling, your father and I just wanted to…check your situation…"

"Don't listen to her Jimmy! It's a trick! She **is** a murderer…oh hello Mrs. Neutron…" Sheen trailed embarrassed off.

"Dad?"

"Hi Jimbo!" the muted voice of his father rang.

Dumbfounded Jimmy asked:

"You wanted to check on me from the roof?"

Judy smiled weakly.

"Actually we peeked inside the window, but then these three maniacs…" she pointed accusingly at Sheen, Carl and Libby, who hummed innocently a tune. "…chased us till we ended up the roof…"

"But how did you come down here?"

Sheen coughed nervously.

"Well…that's my fault. "

Jimmy buried his face in his hands and whispered:

"It's okay…you don't have to tell me…"

Sheen smiled widely at this.

"You're really okay, dude?"

Jimmy looked up again and stated calmly:

"It doesn't matter how you did this. I have enough reasons to kill you!"

Sheen whined afraid and jumped behind Carl.

"You don't have to hide there, because Carl will be the next I am going to kill.

Before Carl had even the chance to panic, Cindy's voice cut through the air.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?!"

Jimmy cursed under his breath. She finally had come to her senses. Simply great.

He sighed and turned around to her.

"Well Cindy…"

No. He couldn't tell her. Somehow he had to stop this madness. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the hypercube. But before he could do something, Sheen took it away from him and said dumbly:

"Shiny…"

Jimmy demanded angrily:

" Give me the Hypno Beam!"

"But Jimmy…the hypercube is sealed…"

"It would be but thanks to you it isn't! Just give me the damn thing!"

Cindy stepped closer.

"Neutron, what is going on? Don't you dare…"

But it was too late, Jimmy had already zapped her. To the shock of everyone, instead of being hypnotized, she simply fell to the ground. Jimmy observed the gadget he was holding.

Angrily he turned around and shouted at Sheen:

"That is the unconsciousness pistol, you IDIOT!!"

Sheen raised pacifying his hands.

"It's okay Jimmy…everything's okay…"

"HOW CAN IT BE OKAY IF I JUST ZAPPED MY OWN FIANCEE UNCONCIOUSS?!"

Everyone in the room stared at him. As no response came, Jimmy took the hypercube and took another gadget.

"Alright…this evening can't get any worse…I might just as well try to turn back the time…"

Mrs. Vortex led out a satisfied: "MOOOO!!"

Jimmy just programmed the gadget, as Carl bumped into him. A blue light bolted and hit Mr. Vortex.

And just then a little baby sat on his space.

"CUTE!" Carl shrieked excitedly and picked up Mr. Vortex.

Desperate, Jimmy groaned. He was so going to drown himself in the lake…no first he would throw Carl and Sheen in the river, and then he would drown himself.

"Jimmy…I know that's a bad moment…but what is this thingy doing?" Sheen asked, holding up the dimension creator.

Jimmy jumped forwards but it was too late. Sheen already had pushed the button. Without thinking, Jimmy grabbed the unconscious Cindy and screamed:

"EVERYONE OUT HERE!!"

The group just reached the street as a dark purple vortex swallowed the Vortex' mansion.

Everyone stared in awe at the spectacle. Finally Mrs. Vortex said (still dreaming):

"MOOO…"

Sheen broke into hysterical laughter.

"Hey this was one of the best evenings in my whole life!!"

Jimmy turned deadly slow around to face him.

"BACK OFF!!" he screamed.

"BACK OFF EVERYONE!!"

Astonished the crowd ran away, his parents dragging the Vortex' (a baby and an imaginary cow) into the Neutron's home.

Just then Cindy woke up. Jimmy leaned over her face and asked softly:

"Are you okay?"

His fiancée stared at the empty spot, where her house had been.

"Other dimension…again?"

Jimmy chuckled uneasily.

"Perhaps…"

Determined the blonde stood up and glared at him.

"Explanations Neutron."

And so Jimmy told her everything…about his fear, their friends, his inventions…and with every word her expression turned darker.

"But Cindy…" he finished, his heart fluttering with fear.

"I am truly sorry for everything that happened…and I know I messed up like never before…but despite everything that happened…please…please forgive me…I know it's hard…but please…do not leave me…I love you." he looked begging at her, praying silently.

She bit her lip and replied:

"Jimmy…I…"

_A/N: What is she going to say? I leave you guessing till the next and final chapter!_ _And as always I beg you all to review and tell me what you think! _

_Love, firepearl_


	8. mother in law: decision

Chapter Seven

**DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN JIMMY NEUTRON! DANG…ONE MORE THING I WANT TO HAVE BUT NEVER WILL…**

_A/N: Tadda! Here comes the final chapter! Huge Thank you to everyone who reviewed!_

The whole world froze in front of Jimmy's eyes. His breath stopped. His mouth went dry, his hands shook heavily. For a moment he could even swear his heart had stopped beating. Panic paralyzed every cell of his body as he awaited dreadfully the answer of his beautiful fiancée.

He almost collapsed as she hardly bit her lip. All his surroundings faded as panic increased its horrible effect. She just couldn't leave him. Not after twelve years! Not after all they've been through and every danger they had faced together. All because of this forsaken evening! It was irrational, unbelievable, impossible! His mind refused to think of that. Yet there he was, there it was happening this very moment.

His eyes widened fearful as she opened her mouth. Her voice was slightly shaking.

"Jimmy…I…" her voice cracked.

Something seemed to die inside his body. She was going to leave him, yet couldn't express it! Despair overwhelmed Jimmy, killing every rational thought. He hung his head defeated. This time he had screwed it big time. And finally lost the most important part of his life…

With a blank stare he lifted his gaze awaiting the final words. Their separation.

Cindy spoke again, her voice even more trembling than before.

"Jimmy…I…I…"

It felt as if someone was cutting his guts out. A few minutes more and he would throw up.

And then it happened. The most unbelievable, most earth shaking, most mountain cracking experience in his life. This one thing he thought would never happen.

Cindy was trembling all over her body…

…and burst out into loud laughter! No she didn't burst, she practically EXPLODED!

In front of her very shocked fiancé, Cindy's laughter rang through the whole neighborhood. Her face reddened, tears of laughter formed in her eyes.

Jimmy's jaw dropped approximately ten miles to the ground. Bewildered as hell, he rubbed his eyes, wondering whether he was dreaming. But as he cleared his gaze, there was the same picture…

He had no clue why it happened, what caused it happening or which reason she had…

But Cindy stood in front of him, shaking of hard laughing, nearly running out of breath! He clearly must have gone mad!

"C-Cin…?" he asked carefully, his voice dripping of disbelief.

As response his fiancée only increased the volume of her laughter.

"C-Cindy…H-have you gone m-mad?"

Cindy shook determined her head. Slowly calming down, she gasped for breath before talking.

"I…I…haha…knew you would…mess up…but you…hahaha…but you went over the top by a long shot!!" she choked out, still giggling.

Jimmy stared densely at her, his lips quivering like mad. Finally he managed to express the thoughts running through his head.

"Wh-Wh-WHAT??"

The world as he knew it apparently had finished existing.

Cindy nodded wildly, more tears falling down her face.

"I…expected…everything…everything…but **this**…"

"I-I-I …I've gotta get you a doctor…"

The blonde woman stopped giggling and looked him deeply in the eyes, which still held an expression of high amusement.

"Jimmy…I've known you for nearly fourteen years…do you really think I was as stupid to believe you wouldn't screw the whole thing?" she asked, a pure smile in her eyes.

Jimmy couldn't help but stare dumbfounded at her. This whole scene was ridiculous…no it was impossible!

Cindy continued explaining:

"But I must confess the show you delivered today…was beyond my wildest fantasies…What the HECK was in your mind when you asked Carl and Sheen to help you?"

He had no answer. And even if he would have had one, there was no way he could form a normal sentence, now.

"I never, ever saw someone mess things up as you did…and what bothers me most…crazy as I am to accept your proposal I SHOULD've known!!" she shook her head, falling again into laughter.

"So…you're not gonna break up with me?" Jimmy asked stupidly.

"Jimmy…I said I would marry you! What does that say to you about my sanity?"

"But…"

"And then you think I would break up with you because of something like that? I've been your girlfriend for twelve years; craziness is nothing new to me…"

"You're not going to dump me?"

"Nope."

Jimmy stared in awe at her, his mind trying desperately to sort this out. But as hard as he tried, his brain refused to comprehend what she just had said.

"But…I presented boxing gloves plants and strawberry-tuna-roast beef chocolate as presents to your parents…"

"I know…"

"I caused a salad –airbag explosion…"

"I know…"

"I let firework like things explode in your living room…"

"Jimmy…you already explained everything…"

"Your mom has salad as hair because of me…"

"I remember that…"

"I let a monkey army into your living room…"

"Oh yeah…"

"I turned your mother's porcelain figures collection into cheddar cheese…"

"WHAT??"

Too late he had noticed his mistake. Jimmy cringed fearfully, awaiting the ultimate doom. But Cindy just smiled at him. By now he was really freaked out by her sudden calmness.

"I wonder how you're going to explain that to my mother…" she chirped cheerfully.

Jimmy smirked. Talk about calmness…she just couldn't await to make him suffer… He really had a crazy life; at least he was practically collapsing at the thought of being dumped by a girl that loved to torment him. Well…this was how his life went since he met her, so why think about that now? He still wasn't sure whether she would kill him the next second.

"And…I did all these other things…and yet you'll stay with me?"

"Yes."

"You're sure, you're alright?"

Cindy smiled mischievously at him.

"You know…somehow I get the feeling, you want to get dumped by me…"

Jimmy's eyes widened, as he stuttered as fast as he could:

"NO!!...I….just…trying….understand…"

His fiancée laughed.

"Jimmy Neutron…you're a trouble making, totally disoriented mess up…and for some reason I will never hope to understand I love you for that…"

Jimmy smiled sheepishly.

"Well…I guess not many guys receive a love declaration right after they turned their fiancée's parents in psychological messes and let their house disappear…"

"Yeah…I guess you're somehow special…"

Her eyes glistened dangerously.

"But that doesn't mean you're not getting your butt kicked as HELL for what you did today!"

Jimmy smiled weakly.

"He…he…he…somehow I expected something like that…"

His fiancée nodded in agreement.

"See…you know me as well."

But before they could go further into that topic, they heard someone yelping.

"OUCH! DANG, CARL!!"

Both, Cindy and Jimmy sighed exasperated…in Jimmy's case a little bit angry.

"Sheen…no all of you! Come out of your hiding place!" Jimmy yelled out.

Sure enough, the three heads of their friend appeared behind a bush. Libby slapped Sheen angrily.

"Way to go, Sheen…now all our gooses are cooked…"

Jimmy pointed accusingly at them.

"Didn't I tell you maniacs to back off?"

Libby scoffed offended.

"Excuse me, but I had to make sure whether my best friend would make the right decision…"

Sheen shouted excitedly:

"I just wanted to see how she was going to beat the crap out of you!"

Carl sniffed nervously.

"Well…I just hid with them because they forced me to…"

Cindy shook annoyed her head. Tiredly she asked Jimmy:

"You really let those guys help you?"

In response Jimmy just shrugged. Cindy sighed and asked Libby:

"And?"

"And what?"

"And what, what?"

"What?"

"Duh! Did I make the right decision?"

Libby pondered that for a second.

"Well…I guess so. If you stay together, we have a fixed pair of maniacs, instead of two maniacs wandering alone through this town…"

Jimmy spat:

"Considering this evening, who do you think are the maniacs?"

Suddenly Sheen began to laugh.

"Man …I never would have guessed she'll stay with you…after all **your** messes… how **you** demolished the hypercube… how **you** chose these crazy inventions… how **you** offended her mother as I delivered the pizza… how **you** demolished her roof and the living room ceiling…and how…"

As he recognized the deadly silence, Sheen shut quickly his mouth. Jimmy smiled warmly at his friend:

"Sheen…you're one of my closest friends…and I think it's just fair if you get five minutes…"

Sheen blinked confused.

"What for?"

Jimmy's smile grew even wider.

"For running and screaming before I take you out into little pieces and shoot them into deep space."

Just as sweetly Cindy added:

"After I taught you a little lesson about pain."

Sheen stared blankly at them.

"Oh…"

Suddenly his brain clicked in and he looked terrified at them.

"Oh!"

And before anyone could even blink, he turned around and raced screaming away.

Jimmy shrugged.

"At least he uses his last five minutes well…"

Libby yawned and said nonchalant:

"Well…I gotta go…see you guys…tell my boyfriend not to scream so loud…"

And Carl added:

"I hope you guys have fun with Sheen…"

With that said, they walked off.

Jimmy stared bewildered after them. To Cindy he said:

"They do realize that I have to kill them for today as well, don't they?"

Cindy shrugged.

"Well…we've got four minutes left…Four minutes for you to think about, how you're going to bring back our house and how to fix my parents!!"

Jimmy cringed slightly.

"Yeah…ahem…why don't we leave them as they are…they were much friendlier…"

He got a hold of himself as he met Cindy's dark gaze.

"YOU'RE NOT GOING TO LEAVE MY PARENTS AS A BABY AND A COW JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON!!" she yelled at him.

"Yeah, yeah…I got it…" he murmured slightly disappointed.

"And just for the record…though I'm not going to dump or kill you…I'm still mad at you for all this!"

"Uh? But you said…"

"And I meant it! Nevertheless I'm mad at you!"

Jimmy sighed. Under his breath he muttered:

"Women…"

Cindy glared mockingly at him.

"I wouldn't complain if I were you…that the wedding isn't cancelled says nothing about how your physical condition will be, my dear…."

Now it was Jimmy's time to get scared. Any other man with any other fiancée would now probably laugh…But with Cindy Vortex as his fiancée he was sure to pay attention to her warning.

Checking her watch Cindy said:

"I guess Sheen's time is up…"

Jimmy offered her smiling his arm.

"Shall we then…?" he asked mockingly politely.

Cindy answered with the same voice:

"It will be a pleasure…"

As they started walking, Cindy kissed him on the lips.

"I love you, you moron…" she said, shaking her head.

Slightly dazed Jimmy smiled at her.

"And I hope you learnt not to rely on Sheen's and Carl's help for the next time…"

With that she began to run in the direction Sheen had chosen before.

Snapping out Jimmy's eyes practically plopped out of his head.

"Next time? That was a joke right?" he shouted after hear.

As the only thing he heard was laughter, he began to run as well.

"Cindy you were joking, RIGHT...CINDY?"

His fiancée just laughed.

"CINDY!"

"CINDY YOU WERE JOKING RIGHT?"

"AW DANG! ULTRALORD HELP ME!!"

"CINDY….?"

"Cindy?"

"It was a joke right?"

"Cin…?"

Jimmy ran helplessly after his laughing fiancée, both ignoring the shouting Sheen, Cindy had grabbed at the ear.

**The end!**

_A/N: So…that's it! I hope you like it! If so…tell me! If not…double tell me, so I can improve in future stories!! Hope I had the characters in character… and it was an okay ending! So now…review!_

_Love, firepearl_


	9. trust

Trust

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related! It surely wouldn't be cancelled if I did.**

_A/N: Hi, this is firepearl, once more! This time I have a little bit sad one-shot. I was a bit in the mood, when I wrote it…anyways, I hope you enjoy it! By the way, they're seventeen years old (except Sheen , of course)._

„_Why wouldn't he believe me? "_

The whispered question haunted like a long forgotten ghost through the icy air and faded unheard away. In the shadow of inner isolation tears searched out their way of dulled emerald eyes, yet they were bitterly held back in the end. The cold winter light lit the pale face of a girl, almost a young woman. Her skin had drained out of all color almost making her seem like a blood empty corpse. But for all she could tell, she didn't lack any of lifeblood…the only tiny thing that was stolen from her soul was vitality. Hands folded, the dumpy blonde hair loosely down her back and her shimmery pink lips pursed, she stared blankly in space.

"Damn…Right now Jimmy's facing his doom…" A tall boy with an unnatural dark expression next to her stated gloomily. He kicked modishly a little white stone away. The tiny stone flew highly through the air and landed with a smack in the icy water of a nearby river. The brilliant water swallowed it quietly, pulling it down to the secret depths of its ground. Seconds later, only tiny waves remained…the last memory of the stone, thrown into the sparkling water out of frustration. Yet the water floated lively on…as if it didn't matter…just a little stone sacrificed to the deep ground of nothingness. For sometimes the sideline characters were so easy to forget… as long as the own life went on in happiness…and you forgot about the feelings, the dreams, and the hopes you destroyed on your way to happiness. And even if these sideline characters have been there all their life...the memory faded quickly into nothingness once they weren't needed anymore…Just like this stone was washed away by the blue river, without anyone carrying about his faith…the only thing that mattered was the river …the ever floating river…

The girl grimaced. Her thoughts were heading in a pathetic direction. But what could she do? Though it sounded overdramatic, she felt like dying inside … for she was one of these sideline characters. The cold grasp around her heart tightened. She had been there all her life…yet he had refused to trust her. Not caring a bit what this did to her soul…as he didn't care about her. Her own thoughts stabbed like a stake through her bleeding heart. How did he do that to her?

A dark haired girl standing close to them clasped her hands together. A cold shiver run through her spine as her eyes met the dead gaze of her best friend. It was suffocating to know and yet being not able to help. Nothing could fill that hole in her heart he caused…no one but him. Libby knew her friend for just too long, how could she not notice what feelings haunted her? Sadly she stirred with her foot in the frozen ground, just not finding the right words. The hard and only truth was that she couldn't help…any matter how badly she wanted to. Little ice crystals flew in the air and died melting in a brief second. A deep frown materialized on Libby's forehead. Sheen's statement rang in her ears. Pondering about his gloomy words her eyes locked with the sparkling water of the river. She sighed deeply.

"I suppose he is…" her own voice resounded hollowly in her ears.

Cindy's eyes narrowed barely noticeable. This all was too much to take for her. To no one in particular, she said quietly, but with desperate fury:

"He should have listened to me!"

It was hard not to flinch at her own words. The pitiful, sympathetically expression Libby's dark eyes, she caught a glimpse at didn't cheer her up at all. In fact it just increased the pain. Libby knew about her feelings, she concluded blankly. Twirling absently a strand of her hair she asked desperately herself how she was supposed to deny the existence of these feelings to herself, when Libby had figured them out that easily. She was caught in a cruel circle…

Carl looked sadly to the ground.

"But he didn't…" he replied with a cracking voice.

The boy was slowly tearing up…his cheeks turning wetter and wetter as he refused to accept the inescapable demise of his best friend. Wordlessly his friends hung their heads, lost in their own sorrow.

Suddenly Sheen growled deeply.

"In the end we're all doomed. We've got to face it…We…everyone we love is screwed!"

They just couldn't stop, stabbing the knife deeper into her heart, could they? Somehow she needed to find a way to let her feelings out. But the simplest way…crying was no option for her. The stone walls she had built to protect her heart were to firm. They hadn't prevented her heart from breaking, sure. But they certainly contained the tears. So she chose the only way she's always known…yelling. If needed hysteria. Nobody could hurt her, if they didn't see how weak she was inside. Cindy's delicate figure shook frantically. Her voice was raising higher, cutting like a bloodthirsty knife through the fresh air.

"Hell! Why hasn't he listened to me?!"

Her friends shook their heads, simply not knowing what to say. Simply expressing his affection, Sheen pulled Libby in a warm embrace. They rested their foreheads against each other's as if the affection they held in their heart could lighten the coldest day of deadly fate. Cindy felt like executed. Why couldn't she have gained something as beautiful as these two? This caring…this mutual support, even in the deadliest moments. Referring to her yelled question, Sheen replied blankly:

"Let go Cindy… it's too late…"

The blonde girl's eyes were set on icy fire; her gaze seemed to stab Sheen right there.

"I knew it would end this way!"

"Cindy…"

"If he just would have listened to me…"

"Cindy…"

"But no! He had to listen to Betty Quinlan! Heck, his deranged obsession will cost us our life!"

Her voice nearly cracked. The river murmured quietly at her side. The full meaning of her own words was nearly killing her. A lonely snowflake touched her cheek. The cold contact didn't even register in her brain. She just wanted to scream, to let out all the hidden emotions in her soul…to set free her pain. Hysterically she went on ranting, her fiery words echoing wide in the space, like a candle flickering in a dark winter's night. Her sight veiled as her despair increased…her screams stung like hot needles in the ears of her friends, who hadn't the slightest chance to ease her pain. At a state of deepest hysteria, Sheen let go of his girlfriend and stepped determined close to Cindy. His voice was serious and slightly exasperated.

"Cindy! Stop hyperventilating!" he demanded sharply.

Her gaze cleared slowly…as if she just realized who she was and where she was. Like the awakening of a dream.

"Do not tell me what to do!"

Sheen scowled angrily at her. Why couldn't she just let go? Was her stupid pride refusing to accept that someone didn't listen to her advice? Could she after all these years still not handle the fact, that she was only the second smartest around? And why couldn't she swallow her damn pride…now when death showed his ugly face?

"Cindy! If you were him, who would you have listened to? A bad tempered, angry girl that tries to make your life as miserable as possible? Or the girl you love?"

Libby gasped.

The whole world was whirling in front of Cindy's eyes…the bridge, the river, the sky. Sheen's clear words echoed in her mind over and over again, penetrating her very soul…burning her heart. Every tiniest hope, the most improbable dream she had treasured in her heart was shattering into thousand pieces, drenched with her own heart blood. The hollowing icy wind surrounded her…begging to carry her away. Temperature left her body till she felt indeed like a corpse. With the little difference that her heart was still able to break.

The others stared at the pale girl. The hurt Cindy was trying to cope with was nearly crying loud out to Libby. The deep understanding between the two girls was so sincere that she felt pain herself by looking at her best friend's face. Curse them all! She wished, there had been a way she could have protected her friend from the pain, she had to cope with now.

Sheen on the other hand hadn't the slightest idea how what he had just done…how he destroyed something of Cindy's being. With big eyes he exchanged glances with Carl, who tapped nervously with his feet, awaiting what would happen next.

Moments past by, till Cindy lifted her head to look at Sheen. Everyone awaited the explosion, expected her to beat Sheen up considering the state of hysteria she had been in a few minutes ago. As she finally opened her mouth, everyone held their breath.

"Sheen is right…"she whispered.

The softly mumbled words didn't reach her friends at once. Confused they found themselves simply staring at her, mouths slightly open in surprise. None of them had awaited _this _one_._

Cindy lowered sadly her gaze, a weak smile pulling at her lips.

"He is right…" she repeated.

Astonished they looked after her, as her figure disappeared in a rising snow storm.

Cindy wiped away the tears that finally found their way out. Snow covered her hair, her face, her hands. Cold icy water mixed with hot tears. She never wanted to cry, especially not because of him. But how could she be strong? After all they have been through together, he didn't trust her.

'_The girl he loved…'_

The blonde stepped slowly through the freezing grass. She wasn't that girl. She was just a sideline character in his life. Despite everything that had been. Although she had been there all the time. The tears veiled her sight. He meant so much to her…but he didn't trust her. Trust. The word tormented her soul. You didn't trust a stranger. But she had always been at his side, when danger was lurking. She _loved_ him. No…he couldn't know that…and he didn't return that. But for everything else he had _have_ to trust her. Apparently she never was a part in his life for him…yes, she had been there…but obviously Cindy Vortex was a person with no meaning to him.

A lost sentence haunted through the air, carrying the frustration of a lonely, pale girl.

"_I would have trusted you, Jimmy… whatever you have said."_

Libby stared blankly at the spot, where her best friend just had gotten her heart broken. With glistering eyes she turned around to Sheen and slapped him furiously, just wanting to hurt him. For one moment, it didn't matter, how much she loved him. He had done the worst to her best friend. He had made her suffer. No one was allowed to do that to Cindy! At this thought, she wished Jimmy the most painful demise she could think of. Sheen jumped two meters back, clearly missing what just had happened.

"You idiot!" Libby's voice sounded loudly, scaring the hell out of her boyfriend.

Sheen blinked confused at her.

"What did I do? It's not my fault she's all so worked up!"

Libby gritted her teeth, ready to shove him in the river. Carl who innocently witnessed the whole scene, cried openly. He had always been sensitive and this situation was taking the worst of him. His best friend was about to die, the ever so strong Cindy had fallen in a state, he just couldn't deal with and now Libby turned against Sheen, for no reason he was able to comprehend. On top of all this misery, they wouldn't see a sunrise ever again.

"Why do you think she's so worked up?" Libby yelled her voice immensely loud, her face red with anger.

Sheen shrugged nonchalantly, still not sensing the problem.

"Because she's too proud to cope with the fact someone disregarded her advice?"

Libby's eyes sparkled dangerously. Sheen shivered. He never had seen his beloved girlfriend like this.

"No! Because …" she emphasized every single word "she is in _love_ with Jimmy, you fool!"

Both, Sheen and Carl got eyes as big as plates. A collective gasp resounded. Sheen stuttered dumbfounded right away:

"She…she…"

Libby glared furiously at him.

"Yes! She loves him! Is head over heels for him! Has deepest affection for him! However you want to call it! And now, think of how your little statement hurt her! What you _did_ to her!"

Sheen and Carl stared at each other, unable to say something.

Finally Sheen managed to say deadpanned:

"Crap."

All Carl could do, was to nod gloomily, fresh tears welling out.

They rushed through the dark building, cold air biting in their faces. Running as hell they tried to escape this trap of doom.

"Jimmy…we won't make it!" Betty's helpless voice sounded.

Jimmy shook determined his head, pushing himself to increase the speed. Sweat ran down his face, mixing with the blood that welled out a cut on his cheek.

"We have to Betty! Otherwise there's no way to fix things! Everyone we know and love will die, if we don't make it through!"He shouted desperately.

Lights flickered, thousands of steps echoed through the dark floor. Paralyzed in fear, Betty let a small scream. Immediately the steps came nearer. Dreadfully Jimmy closed his eyes. They had reached a dead end…

Betty whined frightened. Her whole fragile body was shaking; her eyes held am expression of utter and pure horror. Jimmy felt guilty for having her involved in this whole mess. This wasn't her fight. She shouldn't be here, facing the death. It was his entire fault. Betty was an innocent, kind and peaceful person. She deserved to have had a careless life not being faced with the inescapable death, which would come in a few moments. Just because…never mind. But it was a fact that tormented his soul. Betty had never done a thing to anyone; she was always nice and sweet to everybody, not able to ever hurt anyone.

Jimmy stared in her pale face. The steps came nearer.

"Betty… I'm truly sorry…" he flustered ashamed.

All she could do was to nod. As the death came nearer her frightful expression softened slowly, her body relaxed. She seemed to come to an inner revelation. Peacefully she stared with her chocolate eyes into his

"At least we are together…" she whispered, the ghost of a smile haunting in her face.

Jimmy blinked amazed at her. What was that about? Did she really… care that much for him? However he couldn't respond the smile as hard as he tried to. The mess they were in was taking too much of him.

Just a few minutes until they'd got caught. Then everything would be in vain. Everyone they knew…everyone they _loved _would die. They would never again see the sun, never laugh again, and never cry. They would never get a chance to make up for something they missed out in their life. Everything that made life so wonderful…gone. Never again feel joy, sorrow, confusion, happiness, love… Everything would be stolen from them, their whole future, just because of his mistakes.

Something rose in Jimmy's heart. Determination.

'_No!' _hismind revolted.

He couldn't let the one he loved die because of him. There was no way he could let her miss out the life she deserved. He couldn't be the reason, that she would never have the chance to realize her dreams. Somehow he had to find a way. He had to fix this…for her.

With racing pulse his mind observed the area. Finally he found something. Some unheedingly thrown away ingredients. Tiny amounts. Too less to use…but he had to get it right. As a damn genius, that he was he would succeed, with the things he had at hand. He owed her that. He owed that everyone he knew.

As fast as he could Jimmy collected them and positioned them in front of the back wall of the dead end, desperately trying to make the best of the few things he had. He worked as quick and determined as never before. Betty stared with wide eyes at his desperately fast work, as he tried to set the ingredients on fire.

"Step back, Betty!" he yelled, praying for good.

Seconds later the relieving loud explosion slashed the wall. Relief washed away Jimmy's other feelings as the cold wind entered the building, carrying away the smoke. But there was no time, for celebrating. They hadn't got away yet.

Jimmy jumped over the smoking remains of the wall and offered Betty his hand.

"Come on!" he demanded.

Carefully, Betty took his hand and they ran away in the snow storm, hoping to reach their hometown just in time.

Fighting their way through the angry snowstorm and without a clue where they went, they left the trap of doom behind them. The threatening steps of their haunters faded away in the chaos of the dancing snowflakes. Somewhere up in the empty sky, a lonely guardian angel must have remained.

Lots of minutes later they reached the bank of the river. Exhausted they sat down, dirt, sweat and smut covering their bodies. Nevertheless Betty laughed happily in euphoria.

"Jimmy we made it! We escaped!" She chirped and whirled gladly the snow up in the air. For one precious moment she had forgotten all her worries.

Jimmy smile absently. He glanced at the dark haired girl, his gaze full of guilt and sadness.

"Betty…I'm so sorry for all this…"

Betty nodded sympathetically.

"It is okay, Jimmy. You didn't mean to harm me…and I shouldn't have believed what I saw…"

Jimmy stared blankly at the cold water of the river.

"No…It's my entire fault. I should have known they would fool you…I should have listened to Cindy…most of her suspicious hypotheses turn out to be true…"

His voice became barely audible. Betty observed his face deeply.

"Why didn't you?"she asked calmly.

Jimmy groaned, remembered of his guilt once again. Snowflakes were dancing on his body, supporting the freezing feeling of his inside.

"Because…"

His voice cracked.

Betty nodded understandingly. For a few moments they hang in silence.

Finally Betty began to talk again, her voice soft and careful.

"Jimmy…Back in there I thought you would have given up…But suddenly you got a hold of yourself…why?" her big brown eyes scanned his face intensely for an answer.

Jimmy's cheeks flushed as he looked ashamed to the frozen ground. Tapping with his fingers on the ground he responded quietly:

"I couldn't let the one I…love _die_…" he murmured his cheeks turning even redder.

Betty's eyes widened in shock as she realized what Jimmy just had said. Slowly a pure smile graced at her lips.

"Jimmy…" she started sweetly, yet quiet.

The boy lifted embarrassed his head. He had given away too much.

"…do you remember what I told you back in this hell?"Betty continued warmly.

Jimmy choked at that one, avoiding looking into her eyes.

"Yes…" he mumbled nervously, not sure where this conversation headed. And what that would mean for the short hours of his life that remained.

Betty scooted closer, increasing his nervousness about ten times.

"Then…what do you think…?"She said with a meaningful twinkle in her eyes.

Jimmy looked stunned at her…his heart racing with nervousness. How was he going to finally tell her?

"Betty…I…"he stuttered.

Betty's eyes sparkled with joy.

"Yes…"she urged him longingly to continue.

His mouth refused to say the last determining words, he _needed_ to tell her. Jimmy swallowed hard.

"_I wasn't thinking of you."_

The sentence hit her like a sword. Everything went deadly silent in their ears, though the snow storm was hauling through the area. Jimmy believed the earth itself had stopped spinning…despite he knew it wasn't scientifically possible. The hurt expression on Betty's face made him hate himself badly. The guilty feeling he had just increased about million times. Not only had he endangered her life but also broken her heart. And on top of all he had…never mind.

Betty pulled slowly away her eyes now dark and gloomily. Sadly she asked:

"It's _her_ right?"

Jimmy lowered again his gaze. Just by the tone of her voice, he knew that she had figured it out.

Hushed, he nodded.

Betty sighed deeply, her eyes brimming with held back tears.

"I should have known…" she started, her voice almost a whisper.

"…all these years I had thought of it, but…I still had hope. Silly, I guess…" she let a small, bitter laugh.

"I mean…all those times I cheered you up…normal things like the theatre play and stuff…it worked, didn't it?…but when the chips were down she was the one to give you strength…in every bad situation she was on your side…I just was too blind…too happy…although deep down I guess I knew the whole time, there was no other for you…" she sighed.

Jimmy didn't want to listen to her. He knew how complicated it was. So many times he had tormented himself with these thoughts…till he could finally admit to himself, who his heart belonged to. But he owed Betty at least his attention now. Betty was his friend. He never wanted to hurt her like this…and even more less he wanted to…he cringed at this thought.

Betty gazed in the sky.

"You should go and find her…" she stated firmly and suddenly surprisingly calm.

Jimmy looked amazed at her. He noticed a snowflake landing on her cheek…melting and running down like a tear…but for all Jimmy knew, it could have been one as well.

Betty locked with his eyes again.

"We've got to get out of this huge mess. And you two together can solve everything…you can do _everything_." she whispered.

It was damn hard not to cry. He had messed up everything…he hadn't seen the catastrophe coming, had abandoned the girl he loved , hurt a good friend, who deserved so much better… and now? How was he supposed to find her? She would never talk to him…not even listen. He wouldn't if he was her. She had always helped him, never let him down, when the chips were down…and he was as ungrateful as to betray her by not trusting her. A long time ago, he had convinced himself, that she was not nearly feeling the same for him, as he for her…but he had owed her his trust, for every little moment she had been there for him. He could be glad, if she was able to look at his shadow. By now he felt like the foulest creature on earth.

Yet he had to find her…both, his mind and his heart told him to search for her. And, he had to try at least, to live up to Betty's confidence. Slowly he stood up, breathing in the cold fresh air. With a last guilty glance at Betty he moved slowly away, choosing just by guess a direction.

"Jimmy!"

He turned around as she called him. Betty as well had stood up…standing lost and lonely there in the twirling cold snow.

"I told her once you were all hers…"

Jimmy blinked and turned confused around.

Betty looked after him, a single tear falling to the ground.

"At least one thing I was right about…"She whispered silently. The only sound that responded was the regular murmuring of the river beneath her .A river made out of tears, like her own tears.

Alone with _her_ tears Cindy sat beneath the same river, many meters away. She put her hardest effort not to think of it anymore, but she couldn't help it. Every time her thoughts drifted back to Jimmy…and Sheen's words. The icy breeze caressed her cheeks, lulling her to sleep. But how could she?

Suddenly someone appeared behind her. She closed tormented her eyes. Why was he permanently ought to hurt her? In the deepest, most secret corner of her heart she felt relief…he was alive! She had thought to never see him again. Apparently he made it out of this hell. Somehow his presence shocked her…and how the hell did he find her? Had he searched for her? But why? Emotions rushed through her like a fire storm. But there was mostly sorrow, anger, jealousy, hurt…every feeling she had was coming over her now.

Carefully he asked:

"May I sit down please?"

Cindy glared at the river. She wanted so badly to slap him. But then again…it wasn't his fault he didn't love her. Silently she shrugged.

"I know I don't deserve that you listen to me, but…"

Cindy grimaced in deepest bitterness. For the first time in his life he was totally right. The cut in her heart ached badly…but some mysterious force forbid her, to ran away, to turn away from him…some cursed force, held her back, drove her to listen to him.

"_Love…"_ a voice in her head spoke. But she could only spit on that in her mind. She had had enough of _love_….this vicious curse. She just wanted to hit him…but she couldn't.

He sat down and out of the corner in her eye she observed him. Just then it hit her that he must have seen her crying…and felt even more pathetic than before. He definitely came in their last hours, just to see her suffer once more.

"Cindy…I'm sorry…"he said helplessly.

These words burned like a slap in her face. He was sorry? Sorry for breaking her heart? Sorry for betraying her as he didn't trust her? Sorry? That was all he had to say? Inwardly dying, she turned even more away from him.

"I…I know I should have listened to you…and I know you're upset…"

Hot anger turned her face red. Furiously she stood up.

"Upset? Upset?! Do you have any idea what you did to me?!" she yelled blindly at him only rushed by the anger and sorrow she felt at the moment. By now he had stood up as well, so she was screaming right in his face.

"After all we've been through you didn't trust me! You just believed with puppy eyes what Betty told you! And now that you realized I was right, you come back crawling and telling me you're sorry! Newsflash Neutron, it doesn't work that way! You betrayed me by not believing me! And I don't care whether you need my help or whether we all die, for I am not willing to help you!" she scolded him.

He stepped nearer, but she raised her hands defensively.

"Cindy…"

"You had your chance Neutron! But you chose the other way! Now deal with it!" she spat at his face, ignoring the tears streaming down her face.

"Cindy…please listen to me…"

The snow storm seemed to increase its power as did Cindy's glare.

"No. You didn't listen to me, why on earth I should listen to you?" she yelled and walked angrily away, her heart feeling like burned.

But he wasn't going to give up. Quickly he came after her and grabbed her wrist. Before she could do anything he twirled her around to face her.

"Because…" his voice was shaking, yet determined.

"The reason I didn't listen to you was that I was afraid, okay?" he yelled in her face.

Surprise washed away all her other feelings. Simply stunned she asked:

"You were afraid?"

Jimmy loosened the grip around her wrist and looked away to the snowflakes that danced in the air. His voice became barely audible.

"Yes I've been afraid…This is the worst mess we were ever in…what you said…what you suspected…it was just so…horrible…I…couldn't…" his voice faded.

Cindy just stared into his eyes, urging him to continue.

"It was so easy to listen to Betty. I just didn't _want_ to believe you…now I know I was selfish…and endangered you all…if I would have only listened to you…But you see Cindy…I was truly afraid…Do you know, how it is to be always responsible for others? I didn't cause this mess, but people expect me to fix everything for them…but now, there was a situation that…was just so _bad_. Do you know what pressure it is to be responsible for everyone you love? What burden? I couldn't believe you…I should have, but I didn't, you see…I just wanted to protect the people I care most for…I couldn't stand the possibility of losing my parents… or Carl…or Sheen…Libby…but what frightened me most, terrified me, yes haunted me was the idea of losing… " his voice softened a bit.

"You."

The world froze. This one little word changed the whole world, she had known. Cold wind blew into Cindy's face, yet she was too shocked as to notice.

Jimmy sighed sadly.

"But it doesn't matter anymore I guess. I was the greatest fool on earth…and now we are all going to die .I disappointed everyone who relied on me…I betrayed you…I should leave now, I shouldn't be the last person you see in your last hours… " his voice cracked. With his head hanging low, he turned around and meant to walk away.

But suddenly someone grabbed his hand. With utter and pure surprise Jimmy looked into Cindy's deep emerald eyes.

"I'm not dead yet Jimmy." She told him.

With a warm glow in her eyes she added:

"And neither are you."

_A/N: Yeah well…when I wrote it, it turned just this way out. Originally I wanted it without a "happy end", but well being the JC fan I am, I couldn't resist I guess… I just wanted to write something different from my last rather humorous story. Oh, did I fool anyone for a second that he had fallen for Betty? No? Well…ok Anyways please tell me what you think! If you read it, you can review it, right? Did you like it? Was it horrible, or cliché? You tell me!_

_Love, firepearl _


	10. You don't want to know what I'm thinking

You don't want to know what I'm thinking…

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related. But I do own the DVD, like I own my story here.**

_A/N: Hello! After the last rather sad one-shot, I have now a, well I think, a funny one (what can I say…I like humor…). Hope you enjoy it! And thanks to you, who reviewed, it's nice to know somebody reads my stories…thousand thanks!!_

„Ahhh! "A certain little boy genius yelped surprised out. His chair was falling back…it had been a bad idea to battle a wasp (hey, how did that came in here?) while standing on the chair. For a moment he tried desperately to fight the law of gravity- unfortunately unsuccessful. With a loud bump his chair hit the ground, throwing Jimmy hard onto his lab desk, which was covered with experiments. Immediately a purple liquid spilled all over his face. In the lack of oxygen the boy gasped and swallowed some of the sweet tasting liquid. Jumping back on the ground he coughed and rubbed intensively his face. For a few minutes he observed the chaos he had caused. The whole desk was spilled with the purple liquid, glasses rolled over the top and papers lay scattered on the ground.

"Great…" mumbled Jimmy annoyed. "Look at this mess….well maybe I can trick Carl in cleaning this up, if I tell him he'd do mom a big favor…" The boy flinched.

"No. Bad…bad idea. Too gross." He became reasonable (and slightly scared of Carl…).

But before he could ponder the mess any longer, he felt something was…wrong. The lab swirled in front of his eyes and suddenly stopped deadly quiet. His stomach tingled, his mouth went dry. How had the liquid tasted? Jimmy's eyes shot open. "Oh oh…" he mumbled, a lump in his throat.

He had swallowed by accident some of the now finished truth serum. That couldn't be good at all…

"Jimmy! Come upstairs please! I need to have you do some things for me…" his mother's face appeared on the screen.

Jimmy swallowed bitterly, while turning around to face the screen. There was no he could leave the lab, when he was affected by the truth serum!

"Not now, mom!" he replied through the loud speaker, trying to get rid of her.

But Jimmy had to learn, as well as any other boy of his age, that it was impossible to get rid of your mother, if she had a task for you.

"Are you busy dear?"asked Judy curious, a slight hint of annoyance in her voice, though.

Jimmy wanted to agree and get this finished, but was taught quickly that his mouth had different plans.

"No mother, I just don't want to come upstairs." The truthful words came out of his mouth.

His mother frowned outraged.

"No excuses, then! Lazy little geniuses need to do double of the work!" she demanded in her best strict-mother voice.

"But mom…" Jimmy started to object but was interrupted immediately by the strict command:

"NOW!"

Sighing Jimmy left his lab and went to the kitchen. Truth serum or not, it was never funny to make his mother angry. After all, she did use very 'unusual' things to clean the house…and he didn't want to end like MaternoTron….the boy chuckled at this one. As if!

"JIMMY!!" his mother cried angrily, as he still hadn't reached her.

Jimmy cringed at her voice. As if…? Suddenly he wasn't so sure anymore. Rushed by miraculously new gained energy, he raced to the kitchen. Judy shook her head and handed him quietly a list.

"So…young man you're going to do everything on the list!"she said sternly.

Jimmy moaned.

"But mom…can't dad do this?" he asked with puppy eyes. His mother glared at him and the boy chuckled uneasily.

As if on cue, Hugh entered the kitchen, jolly and goofy as always and completely oblivious to the whole situation. In one hand he held a wooden duck, his latest favorite one.

"Look at this Jimbo…" he presented proudly his treasure, eyes glistening admiring.

"Isn't she beautiful?" Hugh seemed to be very out of it, googling at his 'lovely' duck.

Jimmy smiled half hearted at him. The boy would never understand his father's love for ducks. However, the sooner he admired the thingy, the sooner his father would leave him alone. Unfortunately, things didn't go as Jimmy had planned…

"Well actually dad, it's just another of your silly ducks, boring, useless and highly immature for a man of your age." He spilled, before he could stop himself.

His parents gasped. Trying to recover his outburst, Jimmy started quickly:

"Well…I actually wanted to say that your weird obsession with ducks is nearly disturbing." As he realized what he had just said, he slapped one hand over his mouth.

"What…I…mean is…well ducks are stupid. They are there to be eaten not admired."

The little genius shrieked at his own words…what the hell was he saying? Well…what he was thinking, but still…

His parent's jaws dropped shocked, and he could swear to hear an owl outside. Anyways, Jimmy wasn't finished yet.

"Frankly, dad your ducks are way embarrassing. That's why I didn't tell you when our last father show and tell day in school was. You would have just humiliated yourself and me, just like all the other times, you came with your ducks!"

Wincing, he immediately cursed that he had invented this silly serum. His dad was surely hurt by now…damn truth. Not knowing how to explain himself, Jimmy rushed out the door shouting:

"By the way mom, your hair looks horrible today!"

Then he was gone, leaving a cloud of dust behind.

His parents stared dumbfounded after their son. Finally Judy found her voice again and said slowly:

"What was that about?"

Hugh shook clueless his head.

"I guess our boy's growing up…"

Clicking finally completely in to what his son had said he pressed his duck protectively against his chest and added sullenly:

"Ducks aren't embarrassing! Right, Sugar Booger?!" he asked for his wife's agreement.

Judy gulped and then smiled broadly at her husband, one corner of her mouth higher as the other one.

"Sure darling…whatever you say…"

Hugh nodded satisfied.

"Ignorant critiques… there are few left with the sense for true beauty, these days…"

Judy continued smiling, her corners of her mouth falling slowly.

"Yeah…beauty…right…"

Jimmy rushed nervously through the street. That had gone way wrong! All he could do was to hope, nobody would cross his way, until the serum wore off.

However, luck didn't mean it good with him this day .After only two minutes Britney walked past him on the pavement. She wore proudly a shiny new pink jacket, her chin lifted high in the air. Seeing Jimmy she called:

"Hi Jimmy! How do you like my, like, totally new jacket?" her voice was cheerfully chirping.

Jimmy looked uncomfortable at her. She really didn't want to know, what he thought of it, he figured. Without noticing his expression Britney went on:

"I hope Nick will, like, totally notice me in this…" she let a dreamy sigh.

Before Jimmy could do something, he spoke:

"Well actually Britney, I think you look like a piglet wrapped in silver paper."

Okay…that wasn't quite nice…

The blonde girl gasped. Jimmy tried to keep his mouth shut in order to prevent further damage, but he lost the battle.

"I guess this is the result of bad fashion magazines and cheap advertisement…they didn't really tell you, you'd look good in this, did they?"

He would throw away the serum, in the deepest hole he could dig with his machines…

"And about Nick…yeah I guess you're shallow and much of an airhead enough for him…but I heard him saying you weren't pretty enough for him. But don't worry, I think a girl as friendly, naïve and unintelligent as you will find a guy equally friendly and dull to be happy with…"

Britney shrieked shocked, her eyes watering. Stunned by his own words, Jimmy tried to save the situation:

"Uh…I'm so sorry Britney! I just told you what I honestly thought!"

The second he spoke, he knew he had screwed it. Britney had enough. Angrily she stomped away, yelling:

"You're a huge jerk, Jimmy Neutron!"

Jimmy sighed frustrated. He felt bad for being like that to her. It wasn't as if he knew Britney that good, but she surely didn't deserve a treatment like this. Now he had already insulted three people. The day got better and better…how did ordinary people just stand their careless, humiliation less life, he asked himself sarcastically. Pondering what to do now and not paying attention, to where he went, he suddenly found himself in front of the Candy Bar. Just then Bolbi came his way.

"Nice day. Bolbi happy!" he chirped in his own annoying voice.

As he saw Jimmy he waved with a dense expression on his face.

"Hello friend! Bolbi happy!"

Jimmy replied quickly:

"Bolbi I'm not your friend. You're a deranged, weird guy with some serious issues. I'd rather be cooked and served on a plate, than to talk with you!" Jimmy wanted to beat himself. That had been a cruel thing to say; even if it had been the truth (conversations with Bolbi were as enjoyable as a knife in each of your ears…)

Bolbi looked hurt to the ground, shuffling mournfully his feet.

"Bolbi sad…" he sniffed, pulling out a tissue.

But Jimmy continued:

"And would you please learn how to speak? I swear I created hamsters that seemed like Shakespeare next to you…."

The strange guy blew sobbing his nose.

"Arghh!! I mean…you're…just… so…dense …."

That did it. Without even awaiting a response Jimmy ran desperately into a random direction…and ended up in the middle of the Candy Bar.

Just then he bumped into Nick Dean. Simply great. The taller boy blinked confused as though it took him a few seconds to notice Jimmy. As he finally did, he asked with a frown:

"Whoa Neutron…what's with the rush? That's not cool at all…."

The response came quickly:

"Well neither are you Nick! I mean, honestly how often can someone crash into a hydrant? You'd think they'd learn their lesson after the third time! But then again, you obviously are as dumb as bread, so I shouldn't wonder…"

Terrified, Jimmy shut his mouth. Talk about the wrong thing to say to the wrong person. He could almost feel the bruises already. Nick's gaze darkened.

"What are you telling me, Neutron?"He asked threateningly.

Although Jimmy tried to keep his mouth shut, he couldn't.

"That you're an embarrassing coward! Remember the time we fought Poultra? I never heard a girl scream as high as you did! I wonder what the girls see in you. Honestly, you spend more time in front of the mirror, than they do!"

He was so dead.

Nick's eyes glistened dangerously. He was just about to step closer, when suddenly some other people around, who overheard the conversation, started laughing. Embarrassed the boy turned on his heel and left the Candy Bar, but not without screaming:

"I'll get back on you for that, Neutron!"

Jimmy sighed relieved. His head was safe for now. Somehow he had to find a way to avoid the other people and get back to his lab, to fix the situation. Now that he had even insulted Nick Dean, heaven knew what was waiting for him next. But as he wanted to turn around he faced Betty. His eyes widened dreadfully. Of all the people he had to meet _her_ now! Curse his bad luck!

"Hello Jimmy!" she said sweetly, clearly missing the frightened expression in his eyes.

"How nice to see you."

Jimmy slapped both of his hands over his mouth, praying to stay quiet. But it didn't help. Oh lord…

"I'm not glad at all to see you Betty."The statement rang thousand times through his head…WHAT THE HECK??

He couldn't believe himself. How could he say that to her? Well…he was afraid to face her in his…condition, so it had been the truth, but still…

Betty just looked at him with her big brown eyes. Disappointed she said:

"Why Jimmy…that wasn't nice…I thought you liked me…"she pouted, lowering sadly her gaze.

Jimmy bit his lip. He bit it so hard, that it almost bled. But the damn words found their way out of his mouth.

"Ya well I guess that was just you. I mean you're quite charming I suppose, but let's face it: you're not very smart. I could never like you that way; I just used you to distract me from my crush on someone else…" The whole world stopped.

Now Jimmy was just as shocked as Betty, who looked as if he had slapped her. He never knew he thought like that. The whole world had gone crazy. CRAZY!! As in ….incredibly-insanely-madly-unbelievably-earthshaking-_**CRAZY**_!!

Betty turned wordlessly around and stormed off, her bouncy hair waving like a dark cloak around her shoulders. Jimmy wanted to call after her, but decided the other way. By now he just could make it worse. If it could get worse…

Sam walked by.

"Man you're a naughty child today, yeah! You're chasing away all my customers, yeah!"

"Well considering the dirt you serve them as food, I'd rather say I saved them from food poisoning! " Jimmy couldn't hold himself.

Sam's cheeks turned crimson red.

"OUT!" he yelled enraged at the boy.

Without looking back, Jimmy raced out ….just to bump into another person. Libby. She was just hearing another of her thousand CD's over a headset. Smiling she told Jimmy:

"Hi Jimmy! I just found the perfect CD! It's so…" but Jimmy interrupted her.

"Do you really think I'm interested? Well yeah I'm not. Frankly, I like you as a friend Libby, but your obsession with music, is way annoying!"

Libby glared offended at him.

"I mean it's always like: "Check it out!" Or: "That's the beat!" I think you're clever enough for another hobby, or do you want to be a party girl forever? This way, nobody will take you serious _ever_…uh…in all respects …" he trailed desperate off.

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of the bed, huh?" Libby snapped offended.

She went fuming away, angrily mumbling:

"Jerk! I can't believe, she actually likes…" But the rest of her words became inaudible for him. Shrugging he continued walking.

Just a few more meters he met his favorite…well good joke, his teacher Miss Fowl, who was looking as if she was in total peace with the world and the universe. Well, the truth serum could easily change that…

"Hello JiIIIImmy isn't it a wonderful da AAAay?" she asked with her own screeching voice, that always makes you wishing to tear off your ears.

Jimmy answered almost defeated:

"Did you ever notice, you look like a bird? I mean your nose is huge, just like a beak!"

Miss Fowl blinked stunned.

"Yeah…one day Green Peace will come to save you as an endangered species!"

Great. Now he had insulted his teacher the worst way. The day became better and better.

"Oh and one thing I always wanted to ask: How the heck, did you get permission as a teacher? You're as unqualified as a kindergarten child!"

As she wanted to reply, Jimmy ran fast away calling:

"I'm sorry, but it's true!"

"Jiiiimy!! For that you have to watch the extremely boring documentation about Egypt five times in a roooow!!" shouted Miss Fowl, as she gained her voice back.

The teacher ran excited after him to give him his punishment. Somehow he managed to escape her, though. It was just crazy. All these people probably hated him now. Well, he did think what he had thought this very moment, but he certainly didn't think as bad in general about them, as they would think now!

Hiding behind a house he suddenly faced Sheen, always the most cough welcome cough sight.

"Hey Jimmy check it out! My new Ultra Lord figure…HEY! Where are you going?"The hyper voice of the boy screeched.

"HEEYY…THAT'S MY TWENTY SECOND FAVORITE ONE!!"

Jimmy raced hounded through the street. But he couldn't help but shout:

"This one is just as boring as your other ones!"

"OBLIVIOUS MORTAL!! ULTRA LORD SHALL PUNISH YOU!! Oh…hello Miss Fowl…I wasn't talking about…yooouuu…OW! I'm delicate!!" the voice of Sheen faded away.

His head shaking, Jimmy continued running. The next moment he bumped into Carl. Destiny had really decided to punish him today. Shrieking he jumped back and escaped, leaving a confused Carl behind, and just calling:

"Carl you've got serious issues! And stay away from my mother!"

"BUT MY DOCTOR SAYS…hello Miss Fowl. Why are you dragging Sheen after you? And why are you sweating like this? Are old people even allowed to run? And why Jimmy was running and why are you running in the same direction as him….AHHH TOO MANY QUESTIONS!! Uh…why are you looking at me like this…OUCH!!" Carl's voice drifted away in a few seconds.

Instead, Jimmy caught Sheen's voice:

"RUN JIMMY, WHEREVER YOU ARE, SHE'S GONE MAD!!...uh…just kidding Miss Fowl…we're old friends…aren't we? Aren't we…uh Miss Fowl….RUN JIMMY!!"

"MY SCAPULA!!"

"BRAAAWK!!"

Jimmy raced as fast as he could. Finally, he couldn't hear his friends anymore, but just for safety he kept on running.

After five minutes he slowed finally down. An empty street lay in front of him. Relieved he went on as suddenly a voice called:

"Hey, Nerdtron!"

Jimmy froze dreadfully. He closed his eyes silently praying.

'Please…please not…"

But it was her. Cindy Vortex stood in front of him as he turned around, mischievously smirking.

"What's the matter, Nerdtron? Does the Zoo want to bring you back home in your cage?"

Jimmy's response came just too quick:

"Vortex, this was actually a very good one!"

He gasped at his own words, as did Cindy.

"What did you just say?" she asked in disbelief.

"It was quite funny what you said. I have to admit that."

Cindy shook stunned her head.

"You're crazy Nerdtron!"

"And you're very cute, you know?"

Jimmy's eyes grew at the size of plates. Had he just said this? No way!

Cindy's jaw dropped to the ground.

"Wh-wha-…?" she managed to choke out.

Jimmy blushed furiously, trying desperately to keep his mouth shut.

"You're a very pretty girl…uh…I mean….you're…I…ugh….well what I'm saying is I appreciate your…!"

"AHA!! THERE YOU ARE!! NOW YOUNG MAN, SEE HOW QUALIFIED I AM!!" Miss Fowl suddenly appeared behind Cindy, Sheen and Carl grabbed each at one ear.

"It's terror…terror!! Ultra Lord where are you?! "Sheen cried loudly.

"I WANT MY MOMMY!! OR JIMMY'S MOMMY…'S cookies…" Carl whined.

Jimmy throws a glance at his enraged teacher, than at Cindy, back to his teacher and shouted:

"Crap! Gotta blast!"

With a last sheepish smile at Cindy, he ran away as fast as he could, Miss Fowl and her two captives right after him.

"SO NOW THESE ARE SEVEN TIMES WATCHING FOR YOU AND YOUR FRIENDS!!"

"HEY, what did we do?"

"I DON'T CARE!!"

"WHAT? YOU'RE AN UNFAIR PERSON WITH METHODS THAT ARE ASHAMING IN TIMES OF DEMOCRATICY!! ULTRA LORD SHALL…"

"EIGHT TIMES!!"

"TEN, OR THERE WILL BE NO DEAL!!"

"FINE!"

"FINE!"

"Uh Sheen…I don't think…"

"YEAH CARL! YOU DON'T THINK! SO LET ME DO THE BUSINESS!!"

"But…."

"SHUT UP YOU TWO !! BRAAAWK!!"

"Ultra Lord will…"

"YOU'RE ALL RIDICULOUS!!"

"_**NEUTRON**_!!"

"Sorry it's just the truth…AHHHH!!"

Oblivious to the whole scene Cindy looked stunned after the boy genius. With her cheeks turning pink she touched absently her face, a tiny smile pulling at her lips.

"_He thinks I'm pretty..."_

_A/N: So that's it! What do you think? There were a few stories about the truth serum, so I decided to write one by myself…but not only revealing his thoughts about Cindy but the other characters as well. Just a small thing to entertain you…I hope it did!! Oh…and it's my first story, in which they are in their actual age of the show…yeah! Please review…I am always so glad when I get a review!! Even if you thought it was great shit…it's the only way I can improve…_

_Love, firepearl_


	11. You don't want to know: PartII

You don't want to know, what I'm thinking Part II

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related. But hey, that would be so awesome!**

_A/N: Actually the last chapter was supposed to be a one-shot, but I've been asked to continue and well…I liked the idea, so I made more. I am horribly afraid, though, that I spoiled everything, so if you don't like the continuation you can also let the former chapter stand as one-shot. Anyways here you go:_

„JIMMY BRAWK NEUTRON!! COME BAAACK HERE THAT INSTANT!! "

"Hey Miss Fowl, could you drop me for a moment? I just saw this brand new Ultra Lord Action figure and I NEED it…..hey ….please let me buy it!! You can grab my ear again afterwards!!

The voices faded slowly away. Jimmy, who had hidden behind a corner, sighed relieved. His heart was pounding hard due to his exhausting escape from Miss Fowl's wrath.

'Who'd guess calling you're teacher a bird, could work them up THAT much…' he thought, still breathing hard.

'Uh…okay….maybe I should have been expecting it…..stupid truth serum!'

But it wasn't only the race that was running through his mind….he still felt utterly confusion, about the things he had said to Cindy….his _**rival.**_

'This serum must have some malfunctions…..hmm but that's highly unlikely, _**I**_ made it….' He pondered silently, stepping on the pavement.

'As if I would ever think that Cindy Vortex is _pretty_!! That's just crazy!' He continued his way, while shaking his head.

But as much as he convinced himself, as much he didn't dare to speak that thought out loud.

As he didn't paid attention to his way, he found himself surprised as a nasty voice sounded from the sideway.

"Why, hello Jimmy….it has been a long time, hasn't it?"

Jimmy cringed.

'Great. Way too make this day even worse.'

With a fake smile plastered on his face, he turned around, facing the person who just spoke.

"Why, hello Eustace, you dumb headed wimp! I really despise it to meet you here. In fact I'd say I'd like to bury myself down this road, but I don't want to do you the favor. Plus this is only a metaphor to express how deeply I dislike you…you know a stylistic way of …."

'Here I go! Talking with my enemy about grammar .Tell me about diplomacy…' Jimmy thought peevish, while his mouth was still lecturing a very amazed Eustace about the use of metaphors.

'Wow….and this service is even for free…nothing to cut down the budget of my good friend Eustace.' he added sarcastically in his mind.

Eustace had enough. With a deep angry frown on his face he interrupted:

"Are you trying to take me for a fool?!I'm so rich; I could buy you and your family and sell you as slaves!!"

Jimmy smirked:

"Too bad you can't buy a brain, you'd need it…"

While Jimmy was enjoying the red, fluffed up expression on Jimmy's face, the truth serum decided once more to get active:

"Did you know slavery was disestablished in the year…."

A history lesson followed with Jimmy blushing deeper and deeper, yet not able to get his mouth under control.

'Well, now it's getting ridiculous!' he thought desperate.

'And why the hell do I know all this stuff?? …. Oh yeah, I'm a genius…'

Eustace yelled exasperated:

"STOP IT NEUTRON!! You can not fool Eustace Strytch!!"

"Yes, you make a fool of yourself already."

"My undying hatred shall pursue you and mine will be the revenge!!"

"When you say revenge do you mean the same as the last time? I'm still waiting for that…technically this is a lie, on the other hand it's true, as you are just blowing threatens at me, yet nothing happened until now, since your last oath….it was irony, another stylistic way that is accepted because I'm not really not saying the truth…..did you know it can work similar as the metaphor? You see…."

"Shut up, Neutron!! I'll get you for that!!"

"What for? Too much education for your under average brain?"

"YOU. WILL. REGRET. THIS. NEUTRON!!"

Eustace ranted wildly, kicking his quiet Butler Blix, who watched the whole scene innocently, in the butt.

Blix winced slightly.

"Owwee mein Herr, owee….oh my…Ich hasse dieses schief gewachsene Kind! Meine Mama sagte mir ja ich soll mir einen anderen Job aussuchen…"

Eustace blinked confused at his Butler. Of course he hadn't understood a word…. it was the first time he heard Blix talking that much in his mother tongue….usually he just used short phrases as:"Jawohl, mein Herr".

Jimmy who understood Blix' words (as he was a genius, and spoke several different languages) chuckled lightly. But just as before, he couldn't get a hold of himself.

"I can understand you hate him Blix….you should have listened to your mother" he spilled.

But as he saw the expression in Blix' eyes and Eustace growing anger he swallowed:

"Ahem…I didn't want to spill that, but it is the truth!" he managed a weak smile.

Eustace glared at his butler and said sneaky:

"We'll talk about that later, Blix…." The old Butler gulped.

To Jimmy, Eustace said:

"And you will pay for this!"

The rich snob turned on his heel, nose raised in the air and dragging the pitiful Butler, who just had called him an awry grown child, down the road.

Jimmy chuckled helplessly.

'At least I didn't tell Eustace this one …"

Sighing he turned around and walked away….

'Wohoo….here I go….ticking my arch enemy off and don't even really knowing why….'

As he went without quite a reason he gasped. In front of his very eyes Beautiful Gorgeous and Professor Calamitous had a….pick nick!!

As he approached he overheard their conversation….

"Daddy, this isn't quite the way I imagined spending my life!!"

"What do you mean, you ungrateful ….uh….ch….?"

"CHILD!! I'm not a child anymore and I definitely do not go to childish pick nicks!! I have weapons to polish and fighting skills to train!"

"Everyone has to explore the gifts of Mother Nature before he destroys it! And as long as you can't afford your own flat, you live under my rules because I am your uh…..uh…."

"Well if you would have got rid of that little brat, the first time you saw him, I'd have the money to buy a palace already!!"

"Hey that's not….uh….ahem……."

Beautiful rolled her eyes, chasing meanly a squirrel away with her fork.

"Uh…uh…."

"Could you finish this before I stab myself with this useless mini weapon?" she asked pointing at her knife.

"Uh..Fair! NOT FAIR!! You Miss Smarty pants couldn't beat him either….hahaha!!"

Prof. Calamitous started a little ridiculous old man dance. His daughter covered her eyes in shame.

"Could you please NOT do that in public??"She asked annoyed.

Calamitous just grinned and twirled around. Beautiful sighed.

"I am beautiful….I am evil….and yet I stand here watching the old man dancing…"

Jimmy couldn't choke back the laughter and burst out into giggles at the funny sight of his enemies. Just then he realized….that was a mistake.

Both, Calamitous and Beautiful jerked their heads around and discovered the little boy genius. Jimmy chuckled uneasily.

"Why hello….What a bad luck to see you….oh by the way, Calamitous you seriously can't dance! You look almost as stupid as Dr. Moist! But well….you cannot make plans, cannot make inventions….how the heck did you get the Professor in front of your name?"

Jimmy gulped. The truth serum obviously intended to kill him. But instead of the angry glares he was prepared to receive, he witnessed tow completely different reactions.

Beautiful burst into laughter. And Calamitous….Calamitous started to cry.

The female villain choked laughing:

"You know this little brat is kinda funny….if I didn't swear to wipe his face off this world, I could actually start to feel sympathy for him…" her voice grew more serious, her eyes glistened dangerously.

"But unfortunately I did swear it…."

Jimmy backed carefully off. But as the dangerous glare in Beautiful's eyes grew too intense, Calamitous interrupted the moment sobbing:

"**But my therapist said, I'm not THAT much of a loser!!" **he whined loudly. Beautiful and the little boy genius blinked confused.

Slowly speaking Jimmy said calmly:

"You're therapist lied.

"I mean seriously, you let beat yourself up by a boy!! If I were you, my self confidence would be like…..ZERO…..seriously is there anything you can be proud of??" he tormented the self confidence of his enemy.

Beautiful began to laugh once more….not caring at all, how her dad got all frustrated. On the weird sight of Calamitous starting to get all sensitive Jimmy asked curious:

"What's it with the crazy Professor?"

Beautiful wiped her eyes and corrected her eyeliner that got irregular due to the tears she cried out of laughing. Smirking at her father she answered:

"He lost his self help book….before he could read the last chapter …." The villain mimicked pure horror, still laughing her head off.

Calamitous sniffed offended:

"If you would have tidied up our residence …"

"I'm not your maid, Dad!!" Beautiful hissed angrily.

Jimmy shook his head.

"So Calamitous is a crying wuss , who still messes up anything he touches and shouldn't even be called villain anymore due to his incompetence…" he summed up, influenced by the serum.

"Hey!! I'm gonna…uh…uh…do …something…evil and then you'll…..uh…uh…"

"Shiver?"

"Cry?"

"Crouch for fear?"

"Beg for mercy?"

"No! uh…not laugh at me anymore!!"

Jimmy nodded absently, continuing his summary:

"And you're daughter is still pure evil and dangerous…."

Beautiful nodded proudly.

"Remember that when I get you…."she chirped as friendly as she could.

"….though I think she might have put on weight a bit…"

'_Crap'_

Suddenly everything went deadly silent. Jimmy could swear the whole world froze in this moment, as he realized what he JUST HAD SAID!!

Even though he was young, he knew already that telling a woman that she put on weight was like exclaiming the wish to get executed. And this wasn't even an ordinary woman…this was Beautiful Gorgeous…the incarnation of female evilness herself!

Not even the whole army of the Gorlocks could save him now.

Beautiful's eyes grew dark as the night in the matter of three seconds. Her whole face just expressed one thing: Death. Painfully slowly, but with a threat in her voice, that would make the bravest warriors crawl back to their mommies she asked:

"Did you just say, I gained on weight?"

Jimmy coughed heavily.

"Well…uh…sounds familiar…in fact I did say it, it's the truth."

Beautiful clenched slowly her fists, her arms pressed firmly against her body and her eyes blazing like fire.

Jimmy stepped back a few other steps, gulping hardly. Calamitous, clearly missing the tension of the moment teased his daughter:

"Oh oh oh….did we eat too much chocolate my dear daughter?" he grinned broadly.

If Calamitous had been clever, he'd known that this was the worst moment to regain his self confidence…but he wasn't.

And so he found his face sooner in the jam jar as he could even blink. As her father was struggling to get out of his vitreous prison, Beautiful turned deadly slowly around to Jimmy again.

"Look what my own father had to pay for a little joke. I was unbelievable merciful on him, he's family after all. But you're a little brat that loves to spoil my evil plans .Now guess what's waiting for you, boy…"

She stepped steadily closer and closer, her face clouded and her teeth gritted.

Jimmy closed frightened his eyes, hoping this all would be a bad dream…when suddenly:

"THERE YOU ARE, JI-BRAWK-MMY!! NO ONE'S GOING TO ESCAPE MY DETENTIONS!!"

Beautiful turned irritated her head. Out of nowhere Miss Fowl appeared, still holding the ears of Jimmy's best friends in an iron grip. With a fair share of bewilderment he noticed that the three of them were completely soaked with water.

On seeing Jimmy's raised eyebrow Sheen chuckled sheepishly:

"Long story, don't ask…"

Carl scoffed sullenly:

"I told you not to…"

"Lalalallalalalal…..I don't wanna hear it!" Sheen yelled at the tops of his lungs.

Miss Fowl stared angrily at Sheen and hissed:

"You'll all get what you deserve, after I caught your friend Jimmy over there BRAWK!!"

Jimmy wasn't sure whether he should be glad to be rescued from the wrath of Beautiful or fear the detention, so he kept his mouth shut….and surprisingly it worked this time.

'Typical….my mouth obeys my commando AFTER it got me deep into the trouble'

Beautiful shook off her surprise and interfered angrily:

"Knock it off, old lady…the little brat is mine!"

Just then Sheen made a realization.

"Beautiful, is that you?? Do you remember me? It's me, Sheen! We were nearly engaged!...Well actually we blow off your wedding with Jet, but it's nearly the same if you mince the details…" he trailed off.

Miss Fowl faced fearless the villain:

"My dear girl, Jimmy is BRAWK my responsibility!"she stated firmly, receiving a death glare by Beautiful.

Meanwhile Carl decided to give Sheen a bit of moral education:

"Sheen! How dare you hit on Beautiful Gorgeous!"

"I will take out this boy, old woman, and there's nothing you can do!"

"Say what? Look at her! Which guy with a bit sense left wouldn't probe his chances?"

"Don't you BRAWK talk in this tone with me, young lady!"

" She's much older…and she's evil!"

"You aren't my mother! I am a certified evil villain, I can talk as rude as I want to!"

"Duh! Did you ever realize Jimmy's mom is like for times older? I don't think you're the one to talk, dude!"

"Certified villain, or not BRAWK certified villain, as long as I'm teacher in this town, younger persons have to behave in my presence BRAWK!!"

"It's something completely different with Judy! Plus you have a girlfriend!"

"Look here, hag. I'm gonna crush this little wimp's bones, and I'll do it without your permission, thank you!"

"Libby never has to know of this…"

"HELLO!! Can somebody help me? I'm kinda stuck in here!"

Everyone stopped talking. Simultaneously Sheen, Carl, Beautiful and Miss Fowl turned her faces to Calamitous and said:

"Not now!"

Then they turned back to their arguments.

"Nobody crushes my student's bones, before he got his well deserved detention!"

"I still think this is unforgivable Sheen."

"Then watch, granny, because I'll do it right here in front of you!"

"Does Elkie know, you're constantly daydreaming of Jimmy's mom?"

"DON'T YOU BRAWK DARE!!"

"What…uh…has Elkie to do with this?"

"Oh I will!"

"Ha HA! You're not as nice as you make it look!"

"I wouldn't do that, young lady…this will all go to your class record!"

"At least I don't go out with some dolls, when I'm having a girlfriend you cheater!"

"Oh my really? I'm not going to school anymore!"

"THEY'RE ACTION FIGURES!! And I never cheated on Libby!"

"It doesn't matter. In this town you still can have a BRAWK class record, after you left scho-BRAWK-ol …never noticed our laws make absolutely no sense?!"

"You tried to hit on Beautiful Gorgeous!!"

"Hey ahem…I'd really appreciate if somebody helped me out here…"

Once again the conversations stopped.

"**NOT NOW!!"**

"Okay…okay…don't get like this…" Calamitous mumbled, still fighting to get his head out of the jam jar.

"Why would I know? I am here to **break **laws, not to obey them!!"

"Oh please…just a bit of harmless flirting…my heart belongs to my queen always!"

"BRAWK!! You don't even know the laws you're breaking?? I'm getting a pedagogic BRAWK nightmare!!"

"It is not right. Nothing you say will convince me otherwise!!"

"I am your nightmare, hag! Now what are you gonna do?"

"Fine….act like a prima donna, for all I care!"

Jimmy's head jerked permanently from Beautiful's and Miss Fowl's conversation to the one of his friends. It all seemed so surreal…so COMPLETELY RIDICULOUS!! He was supposed to be a genius…but he just couldn't comprehend the situation.

Anyways he decided to put an end to that silly dispute.

At the tops of his lungs, he screamed:

"HEY YOU GUYS, CUT IT OFF FOR GOD'S SAKE!!"

No one paid attention to him.

"Don't you even realize how awfully dumb you make yourselves? Does it even register to you, what brain dead idiots you are at the moment?"

Quickly he covered his mouth. In all that madness he completely forgot the truth serum…

But instead of four furious glares he received absolutely nothing.

"Oh you wanna tell my dad…just go on, old girl, it's the guy in the jam jar over there!"

Jimmy shook stunned his head. He walked leisurely away, telling them casually:

"Well I gotta go….if you're ready to cut off my head, just let me know…."

The crowd just yelled:

"Not now!"

With a shrug Jimmy disappeared.

"Ha HA! I got out of this silly thing!" cried Calamitous triumphantly, finally getting some attention.

The others blinked confused at each other. Eventually realization came.

"Did Jimmy just call us brain dead idiots?" Sheen asked slowly.

"Yes…" the others nodded, equally slow.

"He called us names and ran off?" Beautiful added questioningly.

Carl nodded angrily.

"That's not what best friends do!"

The four of them exchanged glances. In the twinkling of an eye they raced down the road, Sheen and Carl still held at their ears by their birdlike teacher.

"**NEUTRON!!"**

Calamitous looked bewildered after them.

"HEY!!" he finally cried. "Wait up for me…DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!!"

With this said, he rushed after them.

Jimmy was still shaking his head, as he entered another road, a few blocks away. Not only did this day grew worse but also stranger every second…

Suddenly he bumped into someone.

Hopping a meter away, his eyes grew wide.

'No…not again' he felt a deep blush creeping up his cheek.

In front of him stood Cindy Vortex, once more, equally blushing. Jimmy chuckled nervously.

"Hey…"

Cindy's reply was just as quiet as his was.

"Hey…strange day isn't it?"

"Strange? It is completely confusing…and somehow it's your fault too…" Jimmy blabbered truthfully.

Cindy looked a bit upset at him.

"What?!"

"Yeah well I meant….never mind…." Jimmy couldn't believe his luck. He actually got his mouth under control!"

But unfortunately Cindy wasn't done yet.

"So now, no telling me how stupid I am or explaining what exactly I messed up?" she asked, her temper already showing through again.

Jimmy bit his tongue. He bit it so hard…so hard. But the cursed words just had to come through.

"Why would I say that?" he asked, inwardly screaming. Curse that potion, curse everything!!

The blonde girl in front of him blinked confused, clearly not knowing what was coming.

"It wouldn't be true; if I called you stupid…you're brilliant!"

This words came out that casual….but there were everything but ordinary! The usually so loud-mouthed blonde was speechless. And that didn't happen quite often.

Jimmy felt completely blank inside. This wasn't real. The whole scene wasn't real.

_**HE, JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON JUST CALLED CINDY VORTEX 'BRILLIANT'!!**_

That would have been enough to make Sheen faint, if he had been there. It was enough to shock his whole school, enough to freak out the whole town….if someone knew about that, they'd even bring that in the news!!

Obviously it was exactly the kind of fame the truth serum tried to bring him, because Jimmy wasn't finished by a long shot.

"When I said it's your fault I meant that because you are so pretty and admirable I am just being so confused! Even when you were mocking me earlier, it just showed your temper and I really liked that but I just don't wanna admit it! Plus it doesn't help you are even more pretty when you're blushing…so for me having such a huge crush on yo--"

All these words came out in one rush and unfortunately totally uncontrollable. Jimmy shrieked loudly as he gained the control over his mouth in the last minute.

Cindy still simply stared at him, her mouth hanging wide open, and her eyes as big as plates.

Jimmy wanted so badly to wake up this instant, but as it turned out wishing wasn't working for a science man. He should have known that _before_ he started making fun of faith and wishes!

"And…uh..Your beautiful emerald eyes growing so big and so good to see the wonderful sparkle in them doesn't help either…UGH!! I don't wanna say that!!" Jimmy yelled frustrated.

"Even if it's true!!"

Cindy tried to say something…unsuccessfully.

"I….I…."she stammered helplessly.

Embarrassment reached its high point, so Jimmy just had to run away. His head as red as a cherry and his face heated as if burning, he rushed away from her once more, not daring to look back at the shocked girl.

He had been away for two minutes and still Cindy was paralyzed, the blush on her face recognizable from even very far away.

"I…" she began again.

"I don't know what's going on…but I like it." She finally whispered with a happy smile.

"Okay….what's going on?"

Libby asked immediately as she saw the strange companion strolling down the street. Miss Fowl had grabbed the Chaos duo at their ears, Beautiful Gorgeous was stomping angrily forward and a very breathless Professor Calamitous ran after them. Libby had seen a lot of weird things….but this was a bit too strange for her taste.

Sheen was just too eager to reply:

"Jimmy! He turned MAD or something like that!"

Carl sniffed sadly:

"He said I would have some issues…."

Sheen interrupted:

"He offended Ultra Lord!"

Miss Fowl added:

"He called me a bird!"

Beautiful Gorgeous said coldly:

"I'll beat him up for what he said."

Calamitous choked out:

"He made fun of me…fun of the worst sort."

Finally they all cried:

"He called us brain dead idiots!!"

Libby gasped. At the sight of the open anger the people in front of her showed, her own anger rose again.

"Well…Genius boy seemed to be very out of it, when I met him…"she agreed upset.

Her boyfriend used that opportunity to yell out furiously:

"He offended Libby!! Now he must PAY!!"

Beautiful nodded.

"I don't care about a Libby…"

"HEY!"

"But he _will_ pay!"

Libby felt a sudden determination dwelling up.

"Well…" she stated firmly.

"Time to find the rude dwarf and give him a piece of mind, what do you think?"

The crowd was just too eager to agree. With dark faces they nodded at each other. Silence followed. Uncertain of what to do, they just all stared at each other. Minutes passed by. Calamitous was counting the grass strands that spread on the street. Carl looked nervously at his nonexistent wristwatch. Beautiful clenched her fists, not moving a bit. Libby kept the determined face, ready to battle.

The situation was best described as…..NOBODY DID ANYTHING!

Someone cleared loudly their throat.

" Okay….I claim myself leader of this group of revenge. My first order: Let's go to the Candy Bar!" Sheen finally cried excitedly out.

The other stared at him. Nobody made a move.

"Good idea." Beautiful finally stated and smirked.

"But you are not the leader."

The crowd agreed cheerfully.

They had a plan…well the best sort of plan; they could come up with at least.

Jimmy's mind was a total mess at the moment. His thoughts were spinning and spinning, yet nothing made any sense to him, even after he pondered what just happened for the thousandth time….

It was just so hard to believe, he really said what he did say. No, it wasn't hard…it was impossible!

'I must be sick…' he thought disgusted.

'Really and utterly sick so I think this ….horrible things would be true. There's no other explanation!'

'_Well…there is one other at least….'_

'Nonsense!!'

'_On the other hand….'_

'NO! Impossible!' Jimmy thought angrily and kicked a pebble. It flew high through the air and hit a cat. The outraged shriek of the animal, made Jimmy realize what he was doing.

'UGH! Great now I'm even arguing with myself! I do so not like that girl!"

'_Why don't you try saying that one aloud?'_

Jimmy decided to face the truth….he had gone completely mad!

'All I can do is hoping, I get to the lab, soon enough to take the antidote…'

As he had finished the truth serum, he had specified its characteristics… due to his own efforts the effect was active for at least three days, unless one took the antidote. He really needed to get back to his lab, before he caused even more damage…

He should have known, he wouldn't get the chance by now.

So he wasn't really surprised anymore, when he saw Goobot and Ooblar flying on the pavement twenty meters ahead of him.

Jimmy's face went completely blank; all his emotions faded away, as resignation took place. There was no interest in eyes, no fear no enmity left as his eyes clouded.

He remembered a certain saying, he caught once somewhere:

'The voice said: Smile and be jolly, it could have gotten worse.'

'So I smiled and was jolly and it got worse.'

Jimmy didn't feel the urge to smile, but he definitely could understand these words now.

So he went in regally abandon towards them. What did he have to lose anymore?

From behind the backs of the slimy alien eggs he called:

"Hi! Back on earth again?"

The aliens startled terribly and due to their overhasty reaction they both crashed into each other. With a loud clang they fell hard on the ground, their slimy green bodies wobbling in their high-tech shells. After a brief moment of putting his thoughts together, Goobot finally opened his protruding eyes and blinked angrily at the little boy genius. Ooblar on the other hand was still dazzling in his own little goo world. He gawked stupidly in the sky and blabbered:

"Chick-chick-chick-Chicken!! No wait….no chickn is-uh…tiny…teeny…tiny ge-ge-geniussy…." He smiled dumbly, scratching the top of his shell.

Meanwhile Goobot had gotten himself completely under control. With an angry whizzing he took off and rested hovering one meter above the ground. With an exaggerated gesture the alien king shook all the dust off. Once he was satisfied with his appearance again, he looked into Jimmy's face, eyes narrowed. He cleared noisily his throat and was about to speak, when Ooblar gabbed in between:

"Whoa….king….kingy is flying. I wanna…I wanna…." The royal assistant hushed confused, his eyes rolling around.

Obviously the king didn't approve that behavior, as he annoyed gave Ooblar a good, strong smack. The assistant's body wobbled around once more, but as he rested, Ooblar's gaze cleared.

Satisfied with his achievement, Goobot turned around to face the young boy who had caused the trouble in the first place.

"Surprised to see us, little earthling?" he asked in his own sneaky voice.

With divine calmness, Jimmy shrugged. His voice was quite even as he replied:

"No not really…of course I didn't expect to see you here, but my day has been too weird, as I could get surprised of your presence…"

If he could, Goobot certainly would have raised an eyebrow at this one.

Jimmy continued:

"So what is it this time? Are you once more working on a totally devilish and vicious plan?" he asked, still no feeling in his voice.

Ooblar gasped and whispered nervously to his brother and king:

"My king! How did he figure that out? We must have some traitor amongst our folk!"

Goobot rolled groaning his eyes.

"Yes Ooblar and I guess the fact that we are his arch enemies, and plotted all the other times against him when we showed up certainly didn't give him the clue."

Ooblar pondered that.

"Oh yeah right! We have been quite mean, haven't we?"

Jimmy agreed chattily:

"Oh well, you just tried to get all town people eaten by a giant spice chicken. That definitely counts as 'mean'"

Ooblar grinned dumbly:

"Hey we are cool, right brother?" he asked Goobot, who made a grim face.

"Ooblar!" the king scolded his assistant. "I told you repeatedly not to use words by these primitive creatures!"

Ooblar bend hastily down and apologized.

Slowly Jimmy's feelings came back and he found himself startled by the situation. There he was, casually chatting with two murderous alien leaders!

So he allowed himself, to ask politely:

"Well…would you tell me, why exactly you two are alone wandering around here? Wouldn't you try to beat me up, as I know you?"

Ooblar gave an excited squeal and clapped happily his hands, like a five-year old, but Goobot calmed him down immediately.

To Jimmy he answered:

"Not today, earthling. It's Ooblar's birthday…"

Before he could continue, Ooblar interrupted:

"And you didn't even get me a present! Me….your royal assistant….your brother!!"

Untouched, Goobot explained further:

"We Yolkians don't do any ….you know…nasty business on Ooblar's birthday. He always gets so particularly annoyingly excited…and it takes weeks to calm him down…I don't have a nerve left for this drama." The alien king tiredly rolled his eyes once again.

From his side Ooblar croaked sourly:

"Mommy always preferred me, HA!!"

Goobot waved bored his statement off.

"Who of us wears the crown, uh?"

"Damn…"

Jimmy still stared questioningly at them.

"So what are you exactly doing here, then?"

"Isn't that obvious? We're making plans, how to rearrange this silly planet, once we finished up with you! I thought it was a good place for my little pets…" Goobot's voice drifted off.

All of sudden two other Yolkians arrived from behind Goobot's back. One of some carried a high-tech gadget, Jimmy recognized as a camera. The other Yolkian was a woman and spoke:

"Here are we again, dear audience in galaxy TV, which can be received throughout several galaxies. Our show is brought to you by…."

"I hate commercials…" muttered Goobot, as the anchor Yolkian went on.

"We are sending live from the quite primitive and underdeveloped planet earth….a planet, as little and unimportant it is…"

"Hey!" cried Jimmy offended. The woman ignored the comment with a royal disinterest.

"…it still stands for a grand shame our folk had to suffer twice. We are now live reporting about the plans our mighty king is making for this place. Here I am with his highness king Goobot of Yolkus and his royal assistant and brother Ooblar. As it seems our glorious leader made contact with the well known earthling brat Jimmy Neutron, the cause of all the shame, Yolkians everywhere in the galaxy have to put up with." reported the anchor woman.

Jimmy did his best not to laugh. The Yolkians made a live report about Goobot's trip to earth? After his last failure, Jimmy wouldn't have thought, the alien was that dumb, to present himself that openly at the place where he had to make his most painful failure by now.

Unfortunately the truth serum decided just now to get him into trouble. For the hundredth time that day.

Still in a chatty voice, Jimmy spilled:

"Goobot, I didn't think you'd be stupid enough to make a fool of yourself in front of so many galaxies! I mean, seriously, which sane person would come back that often to the place they LOST at? You Goobot are the leader of an advanced species million of light years ahead of us, yet you FAILED to battle our little town! If I was you, I wouldn't show my face even to my own mother out of shame! How can a complete loser like you are claim his self king, after all that happened? You aren't even able to command a bunch of drool monkeys, let alone a whole planet! Look at me! Technically I am a little boy who happens to be particularly smart and has a bunch of very good friends and a very confusing crus--"Jimmy stopped for a second, shaking this thought off." That is basically all I've got. You have thousands of soldiers and super advanced weapons…and YET YOU CAN'T BEAT ME?? They should let you starring the role in a comedy show! It's somehow reasonable now, you hail to a 

chicken….you are a weak chicken yourself! Not in the literal sense of course, more in the sense of coward…if you know what I mean."

The eyes of the anchor woman widened. Jimmy closed slowly his mouth, realizing he just humiliated Goobot in front of SEVERAL GALAXIES!! That would be thousands, no millions of worlds, laughing their head off at Goobot and the Yolkians… there was no way, NO WAY in hell, Goobot would be in a good mood now.

Indeed the eyes of the alien king were on fire. Jimmy began to shiver at the sight of the pure hate in Goobot's eyes. Even Ooblar was too speechless to say something. This time, Jimmy really had blown it.

"DESTROY THIS WORM!" echoed the furious scream of Goobot through the streets.

While Jimmy turned on his heel and ran for dear life, Goobot realized he had made a big mistake out of anger and embarrassment.

"Destroy??" Ooblar squealed delighted.

Goobot would have paled if he had been human.

"Oh…oh…" he whispered, awaiting the inevitable.

"DESTROY??" Ooblar asked once more, this time pure madness glistening in his eyes. Wildly the royal assistant bolted through the air, immediately bumping into Goobot and the camera man, who desperately tried to escape Ooblar. But that made the royal assistant just more excited and in a few seconds chaos was at every turn.

As the four Yolkians finally all came to their senses again, the truthful boy genius was gone long ago.

"Neutron will get what he deserves, I swear it!" Nick Dean muttered furiously under his breath. Britney, who sat opposite of him, nodded, her eyes somehow suspiciously wet. Sam scooted into a seat next to them.

"This goes for free, yeah! I'm really ticked off by that genius, yeah." He mumbled darkly and tossed the four children at his side each a sundae. Betty looked sad at the table.

"I just don't understand how he could be that mean…" she said softly. Britney scoffed.

"He was like, a complete jerk! I just asked him what he thought of my, like, totally new jacket and he was really rude!"

Bolbi hung his head low.

"Bolbi not dumb. Jimmy mean, mean boy. Bolbi sad…."

Betty frowned:

"He could have apologized to just one of us, at least. I never knew he could be like that!"

"The little loser will see what he gets; when I'm through with him….that is if I ever can show my face in public again…" Nick sniffed.

The others nodded silently. Just then the door swung open and interrupted the pity party. Eustace Strytch the local richest boy stormed into the Candy Bar, his face glowing red. After him came his old Butler, clearly out of breath.

"WHERE IS NEUTRON??" the rich kid screamed bossily.

The five people, who just had complained looked curiously up.

"I demand to know, where this little dwarf is!" Eustace cried out.

Nick stood up.

"If I knew that, he'd find himself in a trash can by now!" he stated proudly.

Agreeing murmur resounded by the others.

Before Eustace could even say something more, the door swung open once more. A loud bunch of people stepped in, all with quite dark faces.

"We search this little brat called Neutron." Beautiful Gorgeous explained coldly.

"So do we!" Eustace and the rest said simultaneously.

"TELL US WHERE HE IS OR ULTRA LORD SHALL….uh..what??" Sheen blinked confused.

"Whoa…let me get this straight….you all are after Jimmy?" Libby asked equally confused. Everyone nodded.

"He said the worst things to me!" Britney ranted.

"And to me!"

"And to me!"

"He was rude to me too!"

Libby grinned grimly.

"Seems as if our good friend Jimmy made himself the most wanted person in town!!"

Sam agreed:

"Yeah! We have the angry mob already…now all we need is Neutron himself!"

This definitely was to the audiences' pleasure.

"Who is in for genius hunt?" Libby cried prompting over the noise.

Needless to say, the crowd agreed with a fiery cheer.

Jimmy ran and ran , completely exhausted by now. He would swear he had practiced more sports on one day, than in his whole life before.

"Why, hello Jimmy!" a voice called.

Jimmy closed his eyes. Whoever this person was, he definitely didn't want to see them.

"Isn't it a wonderful day? The sun is shining, the birds are singing and I think music lies in the air…"

Jimmy sighed. As he opened his eyes he recognized his Principal Willoughby. Who else could be so jolly on a day like this? But Willoughby wasn't alone. Behind him Jimmy could see the major of Retroville and super producer Corky Shimatsu engrossed in a conversation.

"What you're telling me is super crazy, but….oh…tell me little boy, didn't I see you before?" Corky noticed Jimmy.

Jimmy shrugged:

"Well…we met a few times before…."

"Great! Now as I told you" Corky beamed and got back to his conversation with the major, but the latter decided to greet Jimmy as well.

"Well…if this isn't the local genius of our nice town…." He said in a voice, you use to talk to six-year olds.

Willoughby nodded wildly:

"He is the best student in my entire school, Mister Mayor! His achievements are famous in the whole country!"

"Well, I know, but still it amazes me….good job, Principal Willoughby!" the mayor assured smiling.

This got Jimmy slightly upset. As if it was due to Principal Willoughby, that Jimmy was born as a genius! Regrettably, it was his anger that made him lose control over his mouth, again.

"Good job? Hardly! I doubt Principal Willoughby even knows half of the stuff we get taught in school….every single student laughs at him! Find me one at student who respects Willoughby and I'll pay you two dollars!" That was sad, but true. "He is a nice fellow and all, but I mean we could even let him buy the story, we went to the SCHOOL tanning salon during classes! He's everything than competent and way embarrassing….so girly!"

The jaws of Willoughby and the major dropped. Corky on the other hand, watched fascinated the scenario.

"Jimmy…I never knew…" Willoughby started helpless, clearly disappointed but also very ticked off.

The major made a serious face.

"Mister Willoughby, is that true what this boy says? I am very sorry to hear of your incompetence….that is inacceptable!!" he fulminated.

Jimmy smirked:

"You shouldn't talk, Mister Mayor! You're just as incompetent as mayor, as Principal Willoughby is as school principal! Did you ever even read the laws you legislate by yourself? If it wasn't so sad to watch I'd even laugh!"

'Wasn't humiliating a mighty alien king in TV and enraging nearly everyone I know, enough?' Jimmy asked himself bitterly.

The two men stared fuming at each other, not knowing how they should react. It was Corky who broke the silence and cheered:

"That was super fantastic! I see a new show coming….'Genius boy against the mighty town men!' It's going to be a hit! You'll be all super stars!" the producer got a dreamy look.

"Oh of course not!" Jimmy interrupted his plans. "It's going to fail just like all your other shows! Did you never notice, that nearly nobody watches a Shimatsu production anymore? The shows you make are B O R I N G!!"

The producer got an horrified expression.

"Not….so….super crazy…" he choked out.

Just as Jimmy tried to run away again-somehow it was getting a habit- he heard incredibly noise coming down the road. Faster as he could blink a crowd of angry people came dangerously close. When he recognized some of the faces he swallowed hard.

"THERE HE IS!!" an angry voice yelled.

The crowd replied with a not very promising roar.

Jimmy turned around and tried getting away, but found himself facing King Goobot, and the three other Yolkians. The boy genius backed away, but the only way was to run in the arms of the crowd behind him. Not knowing what to do he soon was circled by fuming people, all yelling at him.

"Let him to me!!" Someone cried.

"No way, I wanna sort this out!"

"He belongs to us!!" cried King Goobot.

"Oh yeah…sorry but I am going to crush his bones!" Beautiful Gorgeous retorted.

"I am a king!"

" So?!"

"I will take him out!" someone else cried.

"First he has to get his detentions!"

"But he said to me…."

"He offended…."

"I'm gonna—"

"No…I will…"

Everyone started fighting everyone. Each of the people wanted to chew Jimmy out by themselves. After only two minutes it was a pure and utter hell of a chaos.

'Okay….all I gotta do is to get their attention and explain everything….' He tried to make a plan.

From the corner of his eye Jimmy saw another person entering the circle. His eyes widened.

'No….oh please no…' he thought desperate.

The person looked confused at the others.

"What is going on here?" the person asked.

Nobody listened. So the person made another attempt….a very loud attempt.

"WOULD ANYONE PLEASE TELL ME WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON??"

Immediately everyone fell silent and stared. Finally Libby asked eagerly:

"Hey Cindy, did Jimmy say something to you?"

Jimmy froze. This couldn't be happening!

Cindy's cheeks flushed deep red. Nervously she replied quickly:

"No. He said absolutely nothing to me….I…I didn't even talk to him, today. Not a word!" she looked very interested at her feet.

Jimmy felt his own cheeks blushing, despite the situation he was in at the moment.

The people just shrugged and went back to their heated arguments.

Finally the mayor decided to make an end to this.

"Dear Citizens!!" he shouted. Part of the crowd fell silent; Professor Calamitous, Beautiful Gorgeous and the Yolkians however, kept on fighting.

The mayor sighed exasperated.

"And dear NOT-CITIZENS AS WELL!"

The villains looked sheepishly at the mayor and mumbled:

"Oh…sorry…"

Satisfied the mayor clapped his hands and continued:

"Since Jimmy Neutron badly offended every one of us, except Miss Vortex…"

Jimmy and Cindy looked quickly in two completely different directions.

"We should now think together of a punishment for him….all together!"

The crowd agreed murmuring. Quickly Jimmy shouted:

"Wait! I can explain _everything_ I said to most of you!"

He caught Cindy's expression and added mentally:

'Except this…'

The people shouted angrily, refusing the idea. As things started to get complicated, the mayor got an idea.

"Dear people! We should at least give the boy a chance…"

Jimmy sighed relieved.

"…so I suggest we will bring him to trial!"

The boy gasped.

"A trial?"

"Yes! As it is written in the book !"

"Which book?"

"This book!"

The mayor held up a blue book, to see for everyone.

"We do things by the book! You know why?"

Jimmy couldn't believe all this….it was getting stranger and stranger.

"No." he answered truthfully.

"Because I read the book! And it's bad!" the mayor spat.

"Now you will pay for that bad literature I had to put up with. That…and because our laws make absolutely no sense" the mayor added thoughtfully.

"Tell me about…." Beautiful Gorgeous and Miss Fowl said simultaneously, both rolling their eyes.

Jimmy still was in shock.

"A trial?" he asked stunned.

"Yes…a public trial….you can explain yourself there!"

"O-okay...I-"Jimmy stopped as sudden realization came.

Public trial?

He couldn't tell them that he was affected by a _truth_ serum.

Because then Cindy would know, that the things he had said had been serious.

His life was over.

"Can I….Can I…." he stuttered paralyzed by his thoughts.

"Under one condition!" he finally managed to say.

The mayor narrowed his eyes.

"You're not the right person to make conditions, Neutron."

"Please…please I agree to the trial, but please make sure _only_ the people I offended will take part in the trial! It would be so important for me!" he pleaded.

The mayor and the others thought about that. Jimmy could see how Cindy wanted to object, but didn't dare to do so.

'Why does she want to have the explanation?' he asked himself. 'We should just forget this…like we always do…'

"Agreed, young boy…." The mayor finally said.

Jimmy could have jumped for relief!

"Oh and…I'll take care, you won't be able to talk about that matter to anyone else." Jimmy assured them, thinking of how Libby would run to her best friend right afterwards to tell Cindy everything that happened.

The mayor nodded.

"Fair enough…."

Jimmy still could sense his anger. But for all he cared everything went fine…as long as Cindy wasn't involved in this scene anymore…

"And who will be the judge?" King Goobot asked.

Carl replied thoughtfully:

"This someone shouldn't have been offended by Jimmy as to stay fair…"

"We have enough judges in this town…." The mayor retorted.

"…but they would have to know Jimmy good enough to sense whether the things he says are implausible …." Libby added.

"They have to be mistrustful about his explanations!!" Sheen continued in a hyper voice.

"And smart enough to understand Jimmy's explanation, as it will probably be scientific…. smart enough as to figure out, whether the things Jimmy will mention are even possible or simply fairy tales…"

Sam shook his head.

"I don't think we have a judge like this by hand…"

The mayor pondered that.

"Well it isn't a conventional trial…so it can be everyone in town…old…or very young…a child…our laws make no sense anyways, so…"

The people's eyes started glistening as they got an idea.

"So you say it's gotta be…"

A bunch of eyes set on a certain girl in their circle.

"Someone like Cindy Vortex…" they finished satisfied the sentence.

It was then that Jimmy fainted.

_A/N: Well…what do you think? I just got the idea, so well. Blix is possibly out of character for ranting about Eustace, but I always felt sorry for the guy, even though he seems to enjoy helping him sometimes. Oh and the conversation double of Sheen, Carl, Miss Fowl and BG is supposed to be hard to read! Anyways I hope you liked it, but if not tell me as well! Oh and I've needed a long time for this… I was distracted…oh wellI still do hope you like it… shivers afraid_

_Love, firepearl!_

27


	12. You don't want to know: PartIII

You don't want to know what I'm thinking Part III

**Disclaimer: I do own Jimmy Neutron and anything related. Yes I really do. Wait….I just realized it was all a dream…dang it, I own nothing (as always).**

_A/N: Hello, here we go with part three! I am so, so gratefully for all the reviews I received….you guys really make me happy! In this part the trial will take place…I don't know much about the procedure there, so I just minced it a bit as TV and similar things give me the imagination. So the jury will make the judgment, but the final decision has the judge .And do not forget this is a Retrovillian trial, so things won't be as strict as at a normal trial! I hope you like that chapter… let's see how poor Jimmy will stand through all of it…_

„Did he just…_faint_? "Asked a very surprised Libby the equally surprised crowd.

A few of them nodded blankly. Their gazes turned to Cindy, who let an uneasy chuckle as she noticed that the attention was turned to her. She twirled absently a strand of her blonde hair and tried nervously to gag:

"Wow…I have scared him….yay me!" she joked, but her voice was shaky and uncertain.

Beautiful Gorgeous stepped in front of her, one eyebrow suspiciously raised.

"Somehow I get the feeling something is wrong with you and that little brat…"she started in a meaningful voice. The blonde girl automatically stepped back, asking herself how she got into that situation. On the other hand, she didn't really want to think about it….it was much too confusing.

The other citizens stared at her, waiting for a response. Cindy gulped and stuttered:

"Wrong? Pshhh….nothing's wrong….I mean yeah something is wrong with Neutron, but it was always wrong , so nothing is more wrong than usually with us….uh…with him…uhm…with me's absolutely nothing wrong….I don't even know what you mean with wrong! Uh….Who wants to go to the trial and kick Neutron's sorry butt?" she added quickly as to turn the attention away from her.

That reminded the people of their situation. Their expressions darkened again as they looked at the little genius that lay unconscious on the ground.

"Well…I guess we have to carry him to the court…" the mayor finally said.

The crowd nodded agreeing.

"Yes."

Nobody moved.

"Since he can't walk when he's unconscious …" the mayor added, hoping that some of the people would get what he meant.

Again the people seemed to agree.

"Sounds logical."

They all stood there, satisfied with their conclusions.

The mayor suppressed an annoyed sigh.

'Never give up….' He told himself.

"….and we can't put him to trial when he's not at the court…."he tried to catch them…unsuccessfully.

Still nobody moved.

"What I mean is…s o m e o n e has to pick him up, if we ever want him to be at the court…."

Again the people nodded.

"Hmmm….that is true." They all smiled expectantly at him.

The mayor rolled his eyes and groaned exasperated.

"What I'm saying is…."

"ONE OF YOU BUZZHEADS HAS TO PICK NEUTRON UP AND CARRY HIM TO THE COURT!!" Cindy exploded, not longer able to listen to the mayor's helpless attempts.

Realization formed on the peoples' faces. Sam looked contemptuously at the mayor.

"Why couldn't you say it like that?" he asked and the other people agreed, their expressions clearly showed that they thought of the mayor not exactly in the best sense.

For one second he was about to say something, but decided otherwise and shut helplessly his mouth. With a frustrated groan he threw his arms in the air and said:

"I don't know!"

With a great amount of disgust, Nick picked up Jimmy's body. Sheen yelled hyper:

"To the court!!"

And for the first time in his life, Sheen experienced that people shared his exaggerated eagerness.

"I tell you Sugar Booger there's nothing to worry about." Hugh assured his wife, as they raced through the town. Judy bit her lip and replied worried:

"But Jimmy's been acting so weird…and he hasn't come home for hours!" Her maternal fear got its best out of her.

Hugh waved this comment carelessly off.

"Oh but Booger….he is sometimes for days in the deep….well huge dark thing up there!" He pointed above his head. Judy rolled her eyes. Though she knew she was going to regret this, she asked her husband:

"Do you mean the space?"

Hugh pondered that word and nodded finally. With a frown he added:

"I wonder why we only see it in the nights…" he scratched clueless his chin.

Judy sighed.

"Oh Hugh…."

Hugh snapped out of his train of thoughts and said:

"Well what I'm saying is, I'm sure he's fine…maybe a bit misguided when it comes to his opinion about ducks…" Hugh scoffed as he remembered how low his son has spoken of these clumsy but sacred animals.

"…but he's a big boy now….maybe his slip of tongue and run-away are just a sign of growing up!" he smiled at his wife.

Judy nodded reluctantly.

"I…I suppose you're right Hugh…"

"Of course Sugar. Don't you...worry anymore."

Judy pondered that when she noticed a crowd of people standing a few hundred meters in front of her.

"Look Hugh…I wonder what's going on there?" she asked her husband slightly concerned.

Hugh looked at the crowd and smiled broadly.

"Great! A protest! Yeah that reminds me of the good old times when I and my buddies were in our wild phase…" he got a dreamy look.

Judy's expression however was suspicious.

"You mean your club of ducks-loving-boys-without-a-date-that-live-with-their-mommys-at-home?"

Hugh nodded once more, his expression still dreamy.

"Yes…the CODLBWADTLWTMAH….I never could remember the whole name very well…"

Judy sighed, awaiting a story of her husband's past. And like always he didn't disappoint her. Unfortunately.

"I'll never understand why the other boys made fun of the name…but it were good times, indeed. I am still sad; you made me leave the club…" Hugh's eyes turned watery. His wife rolled her eyes, but made sure he didn't notice it.

"We were like….the justice bringing force for duck lovers everywhere …I and the boys had our meetings and festivals….yeah the good old times…."

Judy shuddered. She had been invited to one of their 'meetings'. The nightmares pursued her even today. Nightmares of flower decorated tea cans and duck imitating, pimpled young adult males…

"We even made once a protest…." Hugh snapped her out of the scary memories.

"Oh…really?"

"Yes…you won't believe it, but they were about to take the stuffed duck Mrs. Quack out of their offer in the mall! I and the guys were aghast of course. So we made up a strategy for a protest! We went to the manager of that mall and told him, we won't buy any duck products anymore there. You should have seen his face! He asked us whether we were serious and I looked him firmly in the eye and said 'Yes!' His expression was very strange after this. He bit hard on his lip, his face went red, his eyes small. We heard him as he went back to his colleagues and told them' You'll never believe me what just happened!'" Hugh made a proud face.

"We kept our promise. Heroic we refused every duck related offer and turned our heads away when someone tried to sell us a stuffed duck. We were strong and determined!"

"Did they put Mrs. Quack back on offer?"

"That's the sad part of the story….despite our heroic efforts and supernatural will power, they never gave in…"

"Oh….I'm sorry dear…."

"But we have tried it! We were heroes! And here am I now to make past failures good again! We should join this protest, Booger! A veteran like me could always be useful!" Hugh smiled determined.

His wife shook silently her head and said:

"Hugh….they're gone…"

The duck lover stared sadly at the ground and mumbled:

"Yeah …I guess they found a veteran on their own…."

Jimmy took place on the wooden seat. His heart beat was racing. If he had a wish he'd made the earth open and swallow him. He was momentary in a big hall with dark brown walls and small windows, which let a few bit of light through. On his right was the jury seated.

Or to speak in clearer terms….everyone he had insulted. He could feel their glares borrowing in his back, his side, and his head.

But the best thing was in front of him. Seated at a high desk Cindy Vortex looked down at him.

Or should he say the girl he humiliated himself the worst in front of and was going to tell why he did so, causing him to face certain death?

The whole situation was a getting badly on his nerves. The dark walls of the hall didn't help to feel comfortable. The spare light didn't help. The borrowing glares of the jury didn't help at all. The knowledge that there was no other explanation than this one didn't help.

But the thing that bothered him the most, that was so deadly annoying for crying out loud was how outrageously pretty Cindy looked! She had absolutely no right to!!

The girl had put her hair up to a bun, with a few strands of her golden-no blonde hair falling over her face. Of course this change of hairstyle was due to Libby. Jimmy had heard her, as he awakened from unconsciousness, how Libby told her best friend she had to look 'professional' when kicking Jimmy's butt. His gratefulness towards Libby definitely was kept within a limit.

The black judge robe they had given her to dress up with fit her perfectly and the dark color just made her face and her hair shine more …

It was so impertinent to look that pretty; it was enough to drive him up the wall!

Cindy cleared her throat. The audience silent slowly down.

"Well…" Cindy started unsure.

Jimmy could tell she was nearly as nervous as he was….but why? This was her perfect chance to put him down now and forever.

"We are here today to give a judgment concerning the ….uh…actions" Cindy blushed slightly and Jimmy felt his face starting to boil as well. Both thought of his 'actions' towards her.

The jury on the other hand growled angrily, clearly not noticing Jimmy's and Cindy's expressions.

"Uh…towards all of the people assembled in this room. The accused obviously said….ahem…inappropriate things…." Cindy's cheeks reddened even more.

Jimmy turned his gaze to the ground and cursed the feeling of a heavy blush creeping up his own cheeks.

"….and we are now here to hear out his….explanation…" The blonde girl bit on her lower lip and glanced hopefully at the 'accused'. Jimmy just kept his head down, his face already as red as a cherry.

Cindy got a hold of herself and continued still with a slight shake in her voice:

"….for the things he said…" she shut her mouth and glanced sheepishly down at her desk.

The crowd mumbled agreeing, not without taking their eyes off Jimmy.

Cindy raised her face again, and asked:

"Are you admitting you did all these things, Jimmy?"

Jimmy was about to reply, as he realized what she had said. As he jerked his head up to look at her, he could tell by her expression that she just realized it herself.

A collective gasp resounded from the jury, as they all stared stunned at the 'judge'. They hadn't expected that one…

Sam asked amazed:

"Did the blondie just call him 'Jimmy'?"

The citizens nodded slowly their heads.

Corky Shimatsu added blankly:

"Super crazy…"

Miss Fowl cleared her throat as to snap out of the shock and screeched:

"In all those years as their teacher I never heard her say that voluntary to him!"

Nick also felt the urge to speak and said:

"Yeah….she hates him, doesn't she?"

Jimmy and Cindy, both with faces as hot as an oven yelled simultaneously:

"That has nothing to do with the matter here!"

The room fell silent. More embarrassment and the trial hadn't even really started yet. Jimmy felt like barfing. Just too good he could remember a time when Cindy just called him 'Jimmy' without any mocking or teasing… And that memory wasn't exactly useful to get rid of embarrassment.

Cindy tried to defend herself:

"Well since this is a trial I can hardly call him names, right? And I won't do him the favor of calling him Mr. Neutron that's for sure!"

Jimmy could hear the uncertain tone in her voice, though.

But obviously she convinced the startled audience. With a few apologizing gazes in Cindy's direction they returned to their favorite activity…glaring at Jimmy.

Jimmy just loved how this day had turned out.

Cindy asked again:

"Are you admitting you did the things, I mentioned?"

The glares became more intensive. Jimmy could feel how they almost stabbed him. He gulped:

"Yes, I…."

"AHA!!" interrupted him Sheen's hyper voice. The Mexican had jumped up and pointed accusingly at Jimmy.

"He admitted it! Lock him away, I say!"

The audience groaned exasperated, well everyone except Bolbi who clapped his hands and shouted happily:

"Crazy boy funny. Is dance time?"

And before anyone could say a word, Bolbi jumped up as well and started his famous slap clap dance.

Everyone's jaw dropped. The Yolkians exchanged meaningful glances.

Ooblar said:

"Oh my….this earthlings invented some really interesting ways of torture…"

He looked interested at Bolbi's performance and asked loud:

"Hello! Your techniques are very advanced….would you teach me how you achieved this state of utter torment?"

Goobot rolled annoyed his eyes.

"Ooblar…it's a dance of this primitive species…."

"HEY!!" cried the whole human audience.

Goobot shrugged carelessly.

"Do you count him as your species?"

The people hushed down and pondered that. Finally Principal Willoughby spoke for them:

"Uh…I guess he has a point…"

Beautiful Gorgeous added:

"If anyone ever compared me to this, I'd rip that one apart."

Ooblar narrowed his eyes as if hard thinking.

"Uhmmm I don't know…in my eyes it is still a very effective way of torture…."

Bolbi finally clicked in to what Ooblar said. He stopped his and hung his head low.

"Green slime not likey Bolbi. Green slime make fun about slap clap dance. Bolbi is sad."

"Shut up and SIT DOWN!!" Cindy yelled exasperated.

Although she was somehow clearly more nervous than usual, her temper showed through once more. Jimmy caught himself almost smiling about that. Disgusted she shook that thought off. Why would he like _that?_

Bolbi obeyed Cindy's commend immediately. Even he wasn't dumb enough as to give Cindy a reason to be ticked off. Quietly he scooted down in his seat.

But Cindy wasn't satisfied yet. Angrily she shouted:

"Same goes for you, Ultra Dork!!"

Sheen, who still stood with his finger pointed at Jimmy, blinked confused.

"But why? It's true, he admitted his crime!"

A collective eye rolling followed his words.

Libby shook her head, but decided to explain it her boyfriend, before Cindy could tell him off and scare him to death.

"We already knew that, silly!"

Unfortunately she just achieved to increase Sheen's confusion.

"Then why do we do this trial if we know he's guilty?"

"Because we want to know why he did this!" Libby replied annoyed.

"Who cares why he did so?" Sheen was obviously completely out of it.

Libby threw a glance at Cindy. She could almost feel her best friend's growing impatience. Actually she wanted Sheen to live a few more years.

So she pulled him down to his seat and told him determined:

"You want to know that! So sit down and be quiet!"

Sheen was still confused, but he didn't dare to object his girlfriend.

Cindy sighed.

"Are we done now?" she asked and the jury hurried to nod.

"Good….so for the third time….Jimmy…." Alright, the nervousness came back.

"…do you admit you did these things?"

"Yes…but I…can explain it…" Jimmy began to stutter.

"Well I mean…I can explain why I did say these things…." He blushed once more.

Cindy raised an eyebrow at this. Carefully she asked:

"So you say you can explain _all _the things you said today….?" Her voice began shaking again at the end of the sentence.

Jimmy felt very uncomfortable. Of course he could explain everything….but he didn't want to. Instead he answered:

"I can explain everything I said to the members of the jury." He stated and looked down at the ground.

Cindy's expression was for the glimpse of a second disappointed, but that was so quick, he possibly just imagined it.

"Son actually…" she started again, but got interrupted Sam who yelled:

"For god's sake he says he can explain it, yeah! Is it that hard to comprehend?"

Cindy turned her gaze down to her desk, the blush on her cheeks already permanently on her face.

Jimmy however thanked Sam inwardly….a few waves of relief washed over him….that is before he heard Calamitous' comment.

The evil scientist frowned and looked curiously at 'accused' and 'judge'.

"Is there a reason you act so gosh darn weird like a newly in love couple?"

Cindy's eyes nearly plopped out her head, as Jimmy got a very bad coughing fit. Both screamed with faces as red as hell:

"ARE YOU NUTS??"

Sheen waggled an eyebrow:

"Oooo….you struck a nerve, old man…"

Jimmy nearly jumped out of his chair. Had the whole world gone crazy?

'And he called himself one of my best friends…' he thought outraged, while trying to get his cheeks paler just with his will power. But as he himself had said once, he was scientist, not a wizard. So his face stayed as red as it was.

Cindy sent Sheen a death glare. Both her and Jimmy had no idea how to get out of that embarrassing situation.

But suddenly Nick started to laugh very hard. Everyone looked at him, how he was shaking with laughter. The echo of his laughter filled the air. Between giggles and gasps he choked out:

"The….imagination…Neutron….and….Vortex….could be….in love with each other….is just….freaking…priceless!!" he threw his head back in his neck and continued laughing loud and freely.

The others looked at each other. Small smiles formed on their faces…some even started giggling wildly. After a few minutes everyone in the room was laughing their heads off…everyone except Cindy and Jimmy who sunk deep in their seats, but were relieved at the same time, it was impossible to the citizens….

'What am I talking…it IS impossible!!' Jimmy screamed at himself.

Neither he nor Cindy noticed that one person was merely laughing, but threw suspicious glances at the two of them. Libby shook silently her head. Something was going on…she could feel it.

After ten full minutes the laughter died finally down.

The mayor wiped his eyes and said breathless:

"Shouldn't we start…with the process? "

Eustace added:

"Yes. As funny as this is I want to get Neutron punished soon!"

Cindy looked down at her files on the desk and said:

"Well…then I think now the interview with the witnesses starts…"

Nick interrupted once more:

"An interview? Cool stuff…I'm perfect for the camera…."

Britney quickly agreed:

"Yeah…you're a real star, Nick!"she giggled senselessly, causing Nick to make proud and arrogant pose.

Jimmy could hardly suppress a groan. Surprised he caught a glimpse at Cindy, who rolled briefly her eyes.

"Strange….' He thought.

'I always thought she liked that nimrod… "

Before Cindy could interrupt the two, Betty said to Britney:

"Darling….I think you should stop drooling over Nick….it's a bad time you know…" in her own sweet, sugary and kind voice.

Jimmy smiled at Betty for a brief moment…she was always kind to everyone, even when she was annoyed. He felt very sorry for the things he had told her…even when they were apparently true. And that reminded him of his greatest problem, so he turned his head back to the front and saw Cindy seething as she looked over to Betty.

He frowned clueless. He had never understood why Cindy held such a great amount of dislike towards Betty. One day he had figured, she probably just had a problem with nice person, but somehow that sounded ridiculous. For some reason he was curious why she despised Betty the way she did…

'Urgh. Stop it…you have bigger problems now!' he told himself.

Cindy shook her head and looked on her list.

"Okay…first witness is…" she rolled her eyes, but not as annoyed as she was a few seconds ago.

"Britney…"

That was another thing that was so strange about this trial, as the jury people were simultaneously the witnesses. But there had been no other way, to solve this problem; at least, he wanted to get the harmed one to forgive him.

As he took place on a side desk, as to make room for Betty, he sighed. This was the easiest part now. All he had to do was to listen to the witness accounts. The harder part would come later…apologizes and….an explanation….He better came up with a plausible one, the truth serum would allow, soon.

At least the effect wasn't as strong anymore, as before. He was still bound to say the truth, but he didn't spill anything he thought uncontrollably out….or so he hoped.

Britney took seat, glared at Jimmy and turned her head back to Cindy with a broad smile.

"Wow Cindy, I like, like completely your hairdo today!" she chatted cheerfully.

The audience groaned except for Libby who smiled proud at her creation. Calamitous whispered at his daughter:

"See…that's the reason I never sent you to a public school…"

Beautiful whispered back:

"I never thought I'd ever say that to _you _(or anyone for that matters), but thank you."

Cindy looked irritated at the girl and said unsure:

"Uh…thank you…"

Jimmy bit his lip very hard as not to say: She's right. And surprisingly it worked.

"Anyways…" Cindy started.

"Okay I'm ready. Where are the cameras?" Britney presented her another pearly white smile.

"Cameras?" Cindy asked completely lost.

"Why of course! Is this an interview or not?" Britney asked as a matter-of-factly.

"Sure but…." Britney already started talking.

"My name is Britney. I'm one of the school's sweethearts, because I'm trendy, popular and of course pretty." She glared at Jimmy, who wasn't sure whether he should frown or burst into laughter.

Cindy, on the other side already rolled her eyes at the word 'sweetheart'. This was going to a long day.

"I am always up to date about the latest fashion trends, the newest make-up and the hottest styles." Britney rambled on, smiling from time to time as if she was at the TV.

"My hobbies are shopping, chilling with my friends, listening to the charts and dancing."

Most of the jury had their faces buried in their hands, while Bolbi had fallen asleep and snorted loud on Carl's shoulder, who looked very disturbed and tried from time to time to shove Bolbi off, unfortunately unsuccessfully. Libby who saw the scene grinned evilly, remembered at their rodeo trip and how Carl had fallen asleep next to her.

"….that's my sixth favorite celebrity. I'm not quite sure who my seventh favorite is, but as sure as I decide, I'll tell you." Britney was now completely focused on her speech.

"The sweetest guy alive in my opinion is Nick." She let a small giggle. Jimmy took somehow great pleasure of the way how Cindy rolled her eyes at this, though he wasn't ready to admit why.

Nick meanwhile nodded nonchalantly and made another arrogant pose. He was used to girls fawning over him, nonetheless he still enjoyed it. He tried to look seductively at Betty, who sat on his right, but she just frowned a bit and faked a smile at him.

Jimmy chuckled silently…not because Betty ditched him, but because of the expression on Nick's face, who simply couldn't believe someone resisted his 'charm'.

"The thirty-fifth point on my must-have wish list is…"

Suddenly Sheen couldn't take it anymore.

"TIME FOR A NAP!!" he cried and sunk sleeping down on Carl's other side. By now Carl looked very horrified and took a good deep suck of his inhaler.

The hyper screech made Cindy jerk her head up, and Jimmy realized, she had dozed as well.

"Britney…that is all really interesting, but what does this have to do with our case here?" Cindy asked tiredly.

Jimmy was quite surprised at her reaction, as he had expected Cindy to freak out and yell impatient at her. But then he remembered she had a slight friendship with Britney…Cindy treated her female friends quite well….what was pretty unfair if you thought of the way she interacted with Sheen an Carl, not to mention him.

Britney blinked confused. Then she remembered the reason of her presence and replied:

"So as you see I had a pretty, happy life….till the day he…" she pointed over dramatic at Jimmy.

"Said things to me as nasty and mean I will perhaps suffer the rest of my life from…" she made an exaggerated face of pain and grief.

Cindy snickered silently:

"Hey I never knew Jimmy had even the imagination to come up with a life affecting insult. His comebacks are usually pretty lame…"

Libby giggled a bit, despite her anger towards Jimmy. The little genius could swear they would have made a high-five if they could have.

Britney however was too busy to make a scene and prove that she was a born actress…what she clearly wasn't.

"I walked down the road with no bad thought on my mind and a brilliant mood….when that jerk came along…he…he…" Britney pressed out a few tears.

"I just wanted to know what he thought of my completely new and STYLISH!!" she glared again at the 'accused'. "…jacket."

Cindy seemed a bit bored as she asked:

"What did he say?"

"He….he…he called me a piglet wrapped in silver paper!" Britney sobbed.

The audience gasped. Even Cindy looked a bit taken back. Out of surprise she bit off the tip of her pencil, she had unconsciously taken in her mouth.

Jimmy cringed. He could see how the people stabbed him with their gazes.

"Oh…that's harsh…" Cindy stated.

Now Britney had her grand scene:

"He called…me shallow and an airhead….and said I'm ugly and gonna end up with some dumb random guy!!" Britney managed to get out some more tears.

"Hey it wasn't exactly like this!" Jimmy shouted.

He hadn't called her ugly, he had said Nick didn't think she was pretty enough for him!"

But the audience was too angry at him.

Calamitous and Ooblar took both out a tissue and sobbed touched. After a few moments they sobbed into each other's arms.

"Poor girl…"Ooblar whined.

Goobot rolled exasperated his eyes and looked at Beautiful.

"Relatives…" he said shrugging.

"Tell me about it…" she agreed annoyed, as she looked at her father sobbing along with a slimy alien.

The other members of the jury shouted at him:

"Be quiet! You did enough to her!"

"But…" Jimmy started helplessly.

"Little brat, yeah!" Sam yelled.

Beautiful rolled her eyes.

"C'mon you people, look at the girl! What he said was even true!" she said nonchalantly.

Britney yelped and a few more tears poured out of her eyes.

Seeing where this was heading, Cindy reacted quickly:

"Uh…okay Britney, you can take seat again….the next one is Bolbi."

Britney scooted sobbing out of the seat and walked back to her place in the jury.

Bolbi however was still sleeping on Carl's shoulder and didn't seem to wake up any time soon. Carefully Carl shook the boy's shoulders…the only reaction he achieved was a loud snort.

So he tried to wake him verbally up.

"Bolbi! Wake up! It's time for your interview!"

No reaction.

Jimmy started to pity his best friend as he desperately tried to wake Bolbi up.

Sheen on the other side of Carl stirred a bit and fell on Libby's shoulder, who in return blushed a bit and try to shake her boyfriend off her.

"BOLBI!! WAKE UP!!" Carl yelled into his ear.

Needless to say, this guy had a very deep sleep.

After a few more unsuccessful attempts of waking Bolbi, he mumbled in his sleep:

"Bolbi….sleeping…peaceful….Kebab…yummy…spiritual rock….Kebab….."

Cindy frowned:

"We might as well count that as his interview…I doubt we will hear something from him that makes more sense…"

But the jury didn't listen to her; they all tried to wake Bolbi up.

"Great…." mumbled Beautiful. "If it wasn't for that weenie's little speech about her happy life, we wouldn't have a sleeping….whatever species he is, here…"

Britney scoffed offended:

"You're evil."

Beautiful, but also Jimmy, Cindy and Libby burst into a short laughter.

"Oh really?" asked Beautiful amused.

"What was your first clue? The weapons I carried, before this dumb heads took them away from me? The black suit? My attitude?"

Britney decided that she couldn't win that one, and turned her attention back to Bolbi.

"I'm gonna destroy your entire planet!" Goobot threatened.

Jimmy coughed.

"Of cooourse….I wouldn't be scared either now…."

To his advantage they were all too busy waking Bolbi, as to hear his comment.

"You'll get ten detentions!" Miss Fowl tried, but Bolbi just yawned in his sleep.

"You never get a sundae again, yeah!" Sam added.

Bolbi was sleeping.

Everyone came up with the worst threatens they could think of, but Bolbi didn't wake up.

Finally Cindy had enough and walked over to the jury's tribune. She shook softly Bolbi's shoulder and said with a surprisingly sweet voice:

"Wake up Bolbi, or I'll be not very satisfied with you."

Bolbi's eyes shot open immediately. In the twitch of an eye, he had jumped up and covered his face with his arms.

"No!! Bolbi is good!! No need being angry!! Bolbi good!!" he shivered.

The others looked stunned at Cindy.

The blonde girl just shrugged and asked:

"Wouldn't you like to have that power, too?"

With that she walked casually back to her desk.

Bolbi, who had already forgotten the whole thing, sat down and stared dumb founded at Cindy.

"So…" Cindy tried to encourage him to speak.

"What did the 'accused' do to you?"

Bolbi opened his mouth.

"In a world of unfairness and grief,

Isn't he just another victim to the viscous way of life?

The dark always brings relief

To those who stabbed their own soul with a knife.

The tears I shed will be forgotten

Lost in a world that doesn't care,

Maybe the remains of my soul will be rotten

But to accuse the cause of my pain, I do not dare.

Maybe he didn't see the goodness and beauty

Caught in the cage of his own plight

Not to accuse is my duty

But to show him his way to the light."

Everyone in the hall looked shocked at the weird boy with the squinting eyes, as he proclaimed these phrases in his best tragedy theatre voice. Bolbi looked like a fallen hero to the ground, head low and a pained expression on his features.

Nobody was able to say a word….they expected everything…everything but this.

"_**Puh-leeze**_…. That was one of the worst poems I've ever heard!" Sheen screeched suddenly.

Apparently he had woken up just in time to watch the show. The jury, the accused and the judge stared bewildered at the hyper boy.

Sheen shrugged clueless:

"What? Isn't a bit criticism always appreciated?"

Cindy was the first to snap out of her amazement. Completely ignoring Sheen, who felt by now quite uncomfortable with all the blank stares pointed at him, she asked Bolbi carefully:

"Uh…what is this gonna say us?" Not that she needed really an explanation. She was good, when it came to arts, interpreting a poem wasn't that hard for her.

Bolbi cleared noisily his throat. With a histrionic gesture he stood up, took a deep breath, closed his eyes and announced:

"Jimmy mean, mean guy!! Called Bolbi stupid, said he's not Bolbi's friend, said Bolbi cannot speak, and called Bolbi deranged! Made Bolbi sad!! Jimmy have to be punish!"

Suddenly the old slightly, no completely dense Bolbi was back. Cindy shook her head in bewilderment.

Jimmy got finally rid of the shock, jumped up and yelled:

"Hey! That wasn't the message of your poem! It was exactly the other way round!"

Bolbi's left eye twitched.

"Which poem Jimmy talks about?"

Jimmy shook helplessly his head. With a blank expression he said:

"Forget it."

Cindy's gaze jumped between Jimmy and Bolbi, but finally she declared:

"Oh…okay Bolbi. Take your seat; the next one on my list is….Nick."

Nick raised his hands in the air and said generously:

"No need to applause, people, it's cool!"

Jimmy sighed. Obviously Nick didn't even notice, that no one except Britney even thought about clapping applause for him. With a smile he thought was super cool, he sat down and laid his feet on the desk.

Cindy raised disgruntled an eyebrow.

"Ahem…Nick…are you comfortable?" she tried to give him a subtle hint.

Jimmy did his best not to snuffle. Giving Nick a subtle hint was like giving salad to a shark. Useless and unsuccessful.

Nick flipped his hair in his arrogant manner and smiled at Cindy. (Without any reason Jimmy felt a strong dislike for Nick dwelling up in him, as he saw that smile….it was so…charming….annoying little jerk…)

"Thank you, I'm very comfortable, Cindy…" he replied nicely.

Jimmy hated that guy. Right now and without apparent reason.

Cindy however got slightly displeased. She liked it when everything went according to the rules. It was natural to her…she made lists, rules, organized everything…whether it were Libby's presents or something else…

And she clearly disliked when somebody put his feet on the table in a court, and crossed their arms behind their head, smiling at her with a smile they thought was so charming…

"Nick…would you take your legs off the table?" she asked, letting it shine through, how much it bugged her.

Nick looked surprised at her, as he obeyed her order.

"Whoa…what happened to you Cindy? You're not quite cool today…"

Jimmy suppressed the urge to bang his head against the desk. Was being cool really the only thing in the big wide world that interested Nick?

Cindy ignored the comment, but as she asked her voice was a bit icier than before:

"Just tell me what Jimmy did to you."

Nick snickered:

"It's so strange to hear your pretty mouth speaking out that ugly name…"

Had he really said this? Jimmy did his best not to open his mouth and tell him off once more. And since when did Nick compliment Cindy like that? Pretty mouth? Oh come on, a few month ago he didn't even notice her most of the time!

'Wait…since when do I care whether Nick compliments Cindy?" he asked annoyed himself.

He decided not to think about it and rather listen to the things Nick had to say.

"Well I was at the Candy Bar…everything was cool and all, I was chilling, impressing a few of the ladies…" He sent a smart smile at Cindy, who just sighed tiredly.

"…when the freakshow over there appeared and bumped right in my way, telling me I'd have the intelligence of bread! Not enough, the little looser had the guts, to tell me I, Nick Dean, wasn't cool! Who does the science geek think he is? Just because he flies to space and perhaps saved the earth one or two times, he thinks he can tell me, what coolness is? Ha!"Nick ranted.

"Then the brat called me a coward! ME!! NICK DEAN!!The people laughed at me!! At me!! Nick Dean!! I…I had to ran off, because of the humiliation, can you believe it, Cindy? ME!! …."

"Nick Dean!" said the jury unnerved.

Eustace rolled his eyes.

"We get the picture…."

Nick 'accidently' missed that comment and assured the judge:

"It isn't as if I couldn't have done away with, Neutron, I'm Nick Dean after all, it was just-"

"Okay no more questions, thank you Nick!" Cindy interrupted him.

Nick, who was used to everybody listening fascinated to him, stared speechless at her.

"What?!" he managed to ask.

Cindy rolled once more her eyes.

"Excuse me….Thank you Nick DEAN, the one and only, yes we know it….please take your seat."

Nick stood stunned up, and returned quietly to his seat. Sheen smiled chummily at him.

"Well, dude seems as if she ditched you!" he spoke everyone's thought out loud.

Nick cringed and threw a death glare at the Mexican. Sheen sighed frustrated.

"Why does everyone look at me like this??"

Cindy continued with the list. A disgusted expression formed on her face.

Reluctantly she read the next name:

"Betty, you're the next."

With gracile steps the dark-haired beauty approached the front of the hall and took her seat.

"Well…I…" Betty started, but Cindy cut her off immediately.

"Yeah, yeah we don't wanna hear your perfect life story, just tell us what he said and get it over with!" she snapped at her.

Betty looked slightly annoyed but ignored Cindy's rudeness.

Suddenly it hit Jimmy. The things he had said to Betty…and the things he had said to Cindy….not a good combination, not at all!

Betty opened her mouth to speak- as Jimmy suddenly got a fit of coughing. Everyone looked oddly at him.

"Uh….sorry…" he apologized with a weak smile. After all he couldn't say 'I just choked on something' thanks to the wonderful truth serum.

Betty looked a bit irritated but continued:

"Anyways I was just greeting him when…"

With a loud clanging five pens fell off Jimmy's table.

Betty and Cindy both raised an eyebrow at him, as Jimmy nervously chuckled:

"Uhuhh….I guess I have to apologize again?"

With that he scrambled under his desk and picked up the pens.

"However Jimmy just told me, he thought it was really bad to meet me, he never liked me, I'm not smart and he has just used me because-"

Just by miracle Jimmy got another cough fit, a really loud one.

Betty just rolled her eyes and said to Cindy:

"…it doesn't matter. That's all I have to say. Jimmy I'm really disappointed of you!

Jimmy smiled sheepishly at her.

Cindy's face however had lit up at one certain point of Betty's speech.

Just to make sure, she got every detail, of course, she asked:

"He said he never really liked you?" Noticing her voice was a bit too jolly, she quickly added:

"Ouch….that's harsh…uhm…very mean…" her voice trailed off.

Libby raised an eyebrow at _that_ one. She knew her best friend well. _Very_ well.

Betty looked half annoyed, half amused at her.

"Thank you for your _honest_ pity, Cindy. By the way, do you remember the chat we recently just had?"

Cindy blushed heavily and replied quickly:

"Uh yeah…that. However the next on my list is Sam. Come here Sam, thanks Betty you can go."

Betty smiled bitterly and shook her head as she returned to her seat.

Before Cindy could even ask, Sam started ranting:

"That little kid chased away all my customers, yeah! And on top of it he said the food I serve was dirt, yeah dirt!!"

Sheen looked disbelieving at the nearly bald man.

"Duh! That wasn't even an insult, it's the truth!"

Jimmy felt like laughing. It ALL was the exact truth…Sheen was right for once in his life.

Sam turned angrily around to face Sheen:

"YOU! Are you siding with the Neutron kid or what?"

"Me?" Carl asked nervously, glancing from side to side.

Sheen jumped up:

"NO!! I'm just telling how it is, Sam….I'd never betray my friends!"

'Oh yeah? Then what's attending the trial against your best friend?' Jimmy asked himself sarcastically.

"Oh just shut up, kiddo, yeah!"

Carl replied confused:

"I didn't say anything!"

Meanwhile Sheen yelled:

"I am talking like I want to talk!"

"You're gonna regret this, yeah!"

Carl looked as if he was about to cry:

"I didn't do anything!"

"I am not scared of you; I have Ultra Lord on my side!"

"Will he pay all your debts, you have made in my restaurant over the years?"

Carl had real tears in his eyes.

"But I never made any debts!"

"Ultra Lord shall—"

"STOP IT!! I NEVER DID ANYTHING TO ANYONE!!"

Everyone looked silently at Carl.

"Uh…Carl….nobody was talking with you…" Sheen stated calmly.

Carl blinked.

"Really?"

"Yeah…"

"Oh. Then go back fighting…."

"NO!!YOU ALL SHUT UP NOW!!" Cindy yelled at the top of her lungs.

"Sam…is there anything useful you can tell us left?" She asked staring at the man.

Sam scratched his chin.

"I guess not…"

"Then go back to your seat!!"

Sam frowned angrily.

"Okay, okay…no need to get all worked up, yeah!"

Cindy looked at her list. There were so many names left and she was already completely tired out. Nonetheless they continued.

"Libby, come here please."

"No problem, girl."

The music loving girl lingered at the front.

"Okay girl I don't wanna annoy the hell out of ya like this bunch of idiots…." Libby threw a meaningful glance at the jury.

"….here's the deal: I came walking down my way to the Candy Bar, when I met Jimmy over there. I was listening to my music and before I even knew what was going on, genius boy decided to make fun of my music and told me I'd end up as some easy party girl, if I didn't search for a new hobby soon. I didn't do anything to tick him off, so I'm very curious to hear his explanation later!"

Cindy nodded absently.

"Thanks Libby…I guess we'll just move on…the next one is Miss Fowl."

Libby went back to the jury's tribune with a satisfied smile.

"See you dork? Not everyone needs to make a scene out of this!"

Sheen scoffed.

"I was defending your honor and you call it making a scene!"

Libby raised an eyebrow.

"Sheen…how is getting yourself kicked out of the Candy Bar related to defending my honor?"

"Uh…."

"Thought so."

"Hey…you have to give me a bit more time to think about an important matter like that!"

"Sheen….you need time to think, no matter about what!"

"Who asked you, Carl?"

"No one, I'm just saying!"

"Well no one wants to hear it!"

"Oh yeah? I bet someone here does!!"

"Not anyone! Not even Jimmy's mom!"

"Let Judy out of this! She's to innocent, sweet and beautiful as to-"

"Whoa! Stop talking about my mom, Carl!" Jimmy yelled over to the tribune.

But Carl didn't listen.

"…be part of one of your stupid arguments!"

"Who says they're stupid? Maybe they're just so intelligent you just can't understand them!"

"Yeah right and Ultra Lord is real!"

"Huh? Of COURSE he is what's that for a lame comeback?"

"Well my mom told me once he isn't re-"

"LALALALALA I DON'T WANNA HEAR IT!!" Sheen yelled, with his hands covering his ears.

Goobot smirked annoyed at Libby:

"So you think, you didn't cause a big scene?"

Libby chuckled uneasily.

"It's not my fault my boyfriend and his friend are such idiots…."

As she realized what she just had said, her head jerked around. With a death glare she said to Cindy:

"Don't even think of commenting this!"

Cindy smiled broadly:

"I'd never think of telling you that it is your fault your _boyfriend_ is an idiot. It's not as if I ever told you, not to pick an Ultra Lord obsessed dork….I'd never even dream of making fun of your choice."

Libby nodded disgruntled.

"Your luck Cin, you weren't going to say this…or I'd have made fun of you for the rest of your life as soon as you get asked out by…."

"Oops look at the time, we need to go on! Miss Fowl, you're the next, come here please!" Cindy quickly changed the subject, her cheeks turning slightly pink.

Beautiful Gorgeous rolled her eyes.

"Is the teenage drama over finally?"

Her father hushed her annoyed down.

"Leave that be, daughter! It's even better, than my four o'clock shows!"

Sheen overheard that. He immediately let go of Carl, who had placed in a head lock a few minutes ago, to laugh at Calamitous.

"Four o'clock? That's not the time when Ultra Lord is on. What crappy shows can that be?"

Beautiful smirked at him.

"You really don't wanna know, believe me…if anyone knew what series my father watches, I'd never show myself in public again!"

Sheen got a dreamy look.

"But it's such a beautiful face…" he began to drool.

Libby glared at him.

"Put your eyes back in your head, Mister!"

Corky Shimatsu clapped applause.

"Wow…I never thought a trial would be so super crazy! We should make a series!!"

Bolbi smiled densely.

"Bolbi great actor. Pick Bolbi!!"

Corky faked a smile and handed Bolbi a card.

"Super fantastic….call me!"

Under his breath the super producer muttered:

"Or call me rather not…"

Carl decided it was a good time to spill a bit more.

"Libby, did you know, Sheen even thought about asking Beautiful Gorgeous out?"

Sheen's eyes shot open.

"Oh that Carl…." He chuckled nervously."Always a joke coming out of that mouth…."

Libby stared blankly at her boyfriend.

"Did you…did you really think you had a chance with her?"

Sheen scratched pondering his chin.

"Well there is the age difference and all… and of course I'd never cheat on you my queen but…."

He was cut off by Libby's loud laughter. The girl laughed in fact so hard, tears began to pour out of her eyes.

"You….hahaha….really….hahaha….thought….YOU….hahaha….had a chance….hahahaha….Cindy's right, you ARE an idiot….hahahahahaha"

Sheen gasped.

"SHE SAID THAT!!"

Everyone in the hall went silent.

"DUH!" They all shouted simultaneously and Sheen sunk down on his place.

"Oh yeah…now that I think of it…."

The so-called 'trial' went on. Miss Fowl complained about, how Jimmy offended her and compared her with a bird (something everyone agreed silently too). The mayor told them, how Jimmy called him incompetent. Principal Willoughby and Corky Shimatsu both narrated emotionally how Jimmy crushed their self-esteem. Calamitous broke down crying and sobbed something about a self help book and everlasting revenge. (not that anyone understood him, as half of his sentences weren't finished) Beautiful Gorgeous reported coldly what Jimmy had said to her and threatened him verbally once more. King Goobot and the Yolkians ranted about the destroyed reputation of the king and his folk in the whole universe.

Eustace blabbered about Jimmy's evilness, himself, Jimmy's commentaries, himself, the revenge Jimmy would get to feel, himself, his money and when he ran out of ideas he surprised them all by talking about himself. Carl thought the whole time he was accused for murder and once they calmed him down, they were too exasperated as to hear his report. And Sheen…well Sheen reported what he knew and went quiet. Mostly this very unusual behavior was to be explained with the girl judge in front of him with daggers in her eyes. The hyper boy didn't even dare to say a wrong word. With Cindy everything was possible…he was slowly at learning, but even Sheen could learn out of his mistakes.

Finally they had heard all the interviews. Jimmy's head was brimming from the day's events. But the worst thing was just before him….the explanation.

Cindy clasped her hands together.

"Now that we've heard about all the things Jimmy said….and I feel as if my IQ is lowered by fifty points, just because of listening to you bunch of madmen…it's time for the accused….to explain everything!"

The crowd cheered loud. They were ready to hear him out.

Jimmy walked back to his seat in front of the judge (which was still so outrageous pretty!) and sighed.

This was going to be very hard.

"Well I…" he started unsure. How was he supposed to convince that bunch of people?

"First I want to say that I am really sorry about the things I said to you."

The jury scoffed.

"Oh yeah, of COURSE he's sorry, now!" somebody yelled.

"Let's see how sorry he is, when we're through with him!"

Cindy hushed the audience quickly down.

She focused her gaze on Jimmy.

"If you are so sorry, why would you say these things in the first place?"

He began to sweat. The glares borrowed into his head again. Hateful, hurt glares.

"Well….I never meant to say these things…" the little genius began again, only to be shot down again.

"Hmm right….too bad you did!" someone hissed.

"Look…when I said these things….you could say I had not quite control over my actions…."

Cindy looked him in the eyes, her expression a complete riddle to him.

"What do you mean, with 'no control'?" She asked.

Jimmy gulped. That was exactly what he didn't want to tell her. He tried to come up with a plausible explanation, but found his attention drawn back to the strange expression in Cindy's eyes…

"I…it is not hard to explain, but for me it is hard, you see…."he stuttered.

"He just doesn't know how to get himself out of this mess!" A person cried.

"He drew the line too far this time!"

"No!" Jimmy cried desperately. It seemed as if he had to give away a bit of the truth.

"It has to do with an experiment!"

The jury watched him carefully, as they pondered that. Nearly every one of them had Jimmy expected to say something like this. None of them seemed the least convinced.

Cindy leaned forwards, distracting Jimmy's mind even more.

"Experiment?" she asked with a frown.

"You really expect us you to believe you said all these …things, you said…" her cheeks showed a faint blush again, "because of an experiment?"

The others in the jury showed openly their disbelief.

Jimmy pondered his opportunities…but the only thing that was plausible was the truth serum.

'Curse you stupid serum!'

"You are right I can't expect you to believe this….but all I can say is, that I got in contact with a special….serum invented by myself…and its effect made me lose the control about the things I said…"

"Everyone could say this." Cindy retorted.

The jury agreed silently with her. The intensiveness of the glares pointing at him increased once more.

"Well…I suppose so, but it is the truth. I am affected with this serum right now. None of these actions were controlled by me!"

Cindy's gaze seemed to go right through them as to find the truth that lay hidden inwardly. His nervousness reached a new level.

'After all this time of…I just can't admit it…why does she have to here?'

But maybe they would believe him when they had time to ponder the idea. They knew him…and what he had done for them over all this time. Maybe….just maybe they would believe him without any poof or further explanations.

Just then he realized his mistake.

Carefully but calm Cindy asked:

"You are still affected by this serum?"

Jimmy's eyes widened. Due to the shock of noticing his slip of tongue, he lost the control over his mouth and replied quickly:

"Yes."

Murmur sounded through the hall. The jury was curious. There was no way they would forgive him without him proving it now….

Cindy's voice was very low as she spoke again.

"Then prove it."

The world started spinning in front of his eyes. No way….he told himself, no way were they going to make him prove it…but it seemed he had lost this battle. The jury stared expectantly at him.

"Show us the effect of this serum, Jimmy." Cindy said quiet but firmly.

Jimmy looked at the ground.

"But…to prove it you'd have to know what the exact effect of the serum is….and I just don't wanna tell you that.

Cindy's voice was very soft now.

"Why not?"

Jimmy wished suddenly he had the usual Cindy yelling at him and insulting him. It was easier to search for a way, to trick her, when she wasn't so….nice to him.

"Because….because…" he started helplessly.

There was no other explanation. He had to tell them.

But they weren't going to like it.

In the end what had he left to lose? They couldn't probably hate him more, than they did now. And his life was miserable enough at this point….why shouldn't she know? Did it even matter, whether he got hurt more?

Jimmy closed his eyes, took a deep breath and said:

"Because it is a truth serum."

Cindy fell back into her seat. The color drained quickly out of her face.

Quite the opposite happened to the rest of the audience. Their faces grew dark red out of anger, their gazes clouded and some were shaken by blind wrath.

"WHAT??" some cried out, their voices full of hate.

Sheen and Carl looked hurt and disappointed at him.

"After…after all those years of being best friends, that's what you really think of us? What you really utterly think deep down?" Carl asked glumly.

Jimmy couldn't answer. The lump in his throat was too big.

Sheen cried hurt out:

"Well to hell with you then, Jimmy Neutron!"

Jimmy turned ashamed his gaze back to the ground. He never meant to hurt his friends….he never wanted to lose them…why did he ever invent this god's damned serum?

The yelling voices grew louder and louder, ringing sharp in his ears and hurting him deep on the inside.

His blank stare wandered to Cindy. She just sat there motionless, her face as pale as snow. She didn't move….she didn't speak. Like a forgotten puppet she sat up there, stunned by the things he had revealed to her…to all of them.

He wanted to cry…but he couldn't. He had to try at least to make it up to them…there was no way he could just let them hate him for the rest of his life, without even trying to make things right.

"Please….hear me out…" he cried softly.

A wave of indignation washed over him. Screams, angry faces. They didn't want to listen to him anymore. He had said enough for a life time.

"Please…please let me explain…." He yelled hopelessly.

But his words were swallowed by the furious insults of the citizens, his enemies….his friends.

"Hear him out!" Cindy shouted emotionless at the top of her lungs.

The complete lack of any feeling in her voice startled the angry and hurt mob so much, they actually shut up.

Cindy faced Jimmy, her expression still clear of any feeling.

"Tell them what you need to say them, Jimmy."

Jimmy looked ashamed at the jury. His gaze wandered from the people he hardly knew to his enemies and finally to his two best friends, who stared sullenly at the ground.

"Although….although I was forced to say the truth…" Jimmy began his explanation.

"…it doesn't mean it is that I really…think of you like that. You see, when I got exposed to the serum my mother called me to come to her, before I could fix things. I was so worried about the effect of the serum, I was annoyed of my parents behavior, as my thoughts were elsewhere…so I thought bad of them…I think you all know it, that you can have a really bad thought about someone you even like, just because you are annoyed or concerned about something else….well I did, and I insulted my parents…then I ran away…and I was angry with myself, you know? Because I insulted them….because I was dumb enough to get in contact with the serum…so when I met Britney I was confused….and her peppy happy character just exhausted me at this moment….so I thought the worst thing about her…and the truth serum made me express this thought…."

Jimmy stopped, unsure of how to continue. All eyes were on him….they all listened to his words.

"You see Britney…I mean it's no secret that you aren't the brightest girl around. But I didn't mean to insult you the way I did...these were just the thoughts that resulted out of my annoyance with myself. That goes for all of you…

Bolbi I am sorry I called you stupid and deranged…you are different, that is all and that is nothing bad.

Nick…I didn't mean to humiliate you in front of everyone….our opinions are just so different…I never wanted to be that way to you on purpose….

Sam I was rude to say a thing like that….I guess for a moment I just hated everything around me."

Jimmy had caught their full attention. In his mind he worked through the list of people in the order he insulted them.

At the next name he took a deep breath.

"Betty…you don't deserve the things I said to you…I never even realized I treated you the way I apparently did…and I am so sorry about it….I guess you are just not the kind of person….I…I am looking for…I am sorry.

Libby I know you aren't just a party girl….you are a great friend and a great person….I was just so…unnerved at this moment. Miss Fowl….I shouldn't have said what I said and…I apologize again.

Eustace…you and I both know that I will never like you….but I just made a fool of you, because my thoughts were running wild after today's events….

Oh and Blix, I'm sorry about the things I spilled.

"Calamitous….well I really think you are a mess up, but I didn't intend to crush your self-esteem that much…for a villain you are quite okay, I guess…."

It felt so odd to comfort someone you didn't really like. But Jimmy owed them all an apology…not just the people he liked.

"Beautiful…needless to say I went way too far with my comment. I apologize a thousand times…Nobody should say such a thing.

Goobot…I am sorry I ruined completely your reputation in several galaxies. You are one of my most dangerous enemies and you will most probably always be one of them. I better should have defeated you in the traditional way, not with the help of making you the clown in the universe….

Principal Willoughby, you are very soft sided but that isn't a bad thing, not at all. I had absolutely no right to hurt you like that.

Corky…I see that producing new shows is your passion….and it has to feel awful when somebody says something about it like I did…I hope you will forgive me.

Mister Mayor…I was cruel to say those things…and I didn't mean them completely…I hope you will forgive me."

Jimmy smiled weak as he came to the last two names on his list.

"Carl and Sheen….you were always the best friends I could ever have wished for and I am ashamed of myself I said those things to you. I could never think of you that bad, I never wanted to hurt you the way I did….and I hope so badly you will forgive me, as I couldn't find anything that would replace you two…"

Jimmy looked sheepishly at the ground.

"I guess…I am done now."

The people were totally silent. They all pondered his words…and Jimmy asked himself afraid whether they even _could_ forgive him.

Jimmy watched tensely as they went into a huddle and talked about their decision. After a few of painfully slow passing minutes they faced him again.

A faint smile appeared on Libby's, Carl's and Sheen's face. Hope arose in Jimmy's hear.

Libby's smile broke into a grin.

"Of course we forgive you, you idiot! It isn't good for my karma to seriously hate someone!"

Carl smiled gently:

"Yeah…my doctor told me it is very bad for my health to be angry with my best friend."

Sheen glanced disturbed at Carl and added:

"Dude, I don't even know why Carl talks with his doctor about those things, but he's right! We're best friends forever!"

Carl stuck his tongue out at Sheen.

Jimmy beamed at them. Stunned he asked the whole jury:

"So you….you really forgive me? As in ….all of you?"

Principal Willoughby nodded friendly:

"Yes we forgive you Jimmy…."

"On one condition …" Nick added.

"Which one?" Jimmy asked clueless.

"Never ever hold such a damn mushy speech. In the middle part I was about to throw up because of all this emotional stuff. It was just so cheesy!" Beautiful rolled her eyes.

The rest of the crowd nodded agreeing their heads. Sheen came over to Jimmy and patted him on the shoulder.

"You might be smart as heck, dude, but your speeches are a real bummer."

Jimmy was so relieved he just laughed happily along with the people.

Just then Sam realized something.

"Wait a minute…he never did really prove us, he is influenced by a truth serum thingy or something like that!"

Libby smirked evilly:

"Oh that's easy to prove…."

She smiled sweetly at Jimmy and asked:

"Did you enjoy your stay on the island, REALLY much?"

Jimmy blushed heavily and tried to keep himself from responding….of course unsuccessfully.

"Yes it was amazing…I'd almost say these were the best days of my life…" He mumbled with a dark face, and cheeks as red as a tomato.

Libby, Carl and Sheen smiled knowingly at each other and nodded. They turned around to the rest of the jury and announced:

"If he isn't under a truth serum, we're all pink ducks."

The jury was a bit confused, but accepted the judgment of Jimmy's best friends.

The boy genius looked at the mayor and asked:

"So am I absolved?"

The mayor smiled:

"No punishment for Jimmy Neutron."

Jimmy smiled broadly back.

"Wait a minute!" a voice resounded.

Everyone turned around to look at the speaker. Cindy Vortex faced them with a determined face. However she wasn't as pale as before anymore.

Jimmy cringed at the thought of what he had admitted….but he was glad it was all over….if he was lucky, she'd just forget it….

"What is it, girl?" asked Libby curios

Cindy cleared her throat.

"Well…the jury has made their decision. I however haven't decided yet and I am the judge. After all I have the last word to say."

Nick frowned confused:

"What should you decide anymore? We have forgiven him, so what's the matter now….You weren't even concerned."

Cindy shook her head.

"I am only absolving him, if he does one thing."

Jimmy looked puzzled at her, and so did the rest of the people.

"And what is that?" he asked stupidly.

Cindy's cheeks flushed bright red.

"If you were really affected by the truth serum the whole time, how you just proved it…"

She took a deep breath and looked him into the eyes.

"Then I want you to explain the things you said to _me_."

_A/N: Oh gosh….this was a long thing to type on one day…my fingers are bleeding I hope it was worth it though, and you like it! If so tell me! If not tell me as well! And did I manage a good cliffhanger? I surely hope so .Anyways review, please!_

_Love, firepearl_


	13. You don't want to know: PartIV

You don't want to know what I'm thinking Part IV

**Disclaimer: Well I didn't own it the other twelve times…do you really think I got that rich over night? I still do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related.**

_A/N: Hello! Wow I am so happy because of your nice reviews! Thank you! And here comes the final chapter! I hope the cliffhanger caught your interest for this chapter…by the way the part about the sulfur butter refers to League of Villains:)…_

Jimmy froze.

'_Did she just….?_

He prayed silently that he misheard her words, but unfortunately the questioning expression on her face and the amazed gasps of the audience left no room for doubts.

She seriously wanted him to give an answer…

He was officially and once for all _**s c r e w e d.**_

Confused murmur reached his ears. Without any doubt, the others were completely taken off guard by Cindy's words. Jimmy felt his own face burning deep red.

After a few moments of blank stares addressed at his humble self, Libby was the first to defeat her surprise.

"Cindy….girl, I thought he said nothing to you?" she asked, still amazement audible in her voice.

The 'jury' nodded slowly, gazes focused on the both of them. Cindy ignored them and kept her annoyingly brilliant emerald eyes on Jimmy, the question nearly screaming mutely at him.

Jimmy gulped and tried to break free from the ban of her piercing green gaze (which's beauty was highly outraging, by the way), yet he couldn't bring himself to turn his eyes away unfortunately. Never before had it been so hard not to look at her…if he hadn't been so confused and embarrassed, he would actually have been a bit frightened.

There was apparently no turning away from here. He couldn't run away from her again, like he did the last two times, when he spilled way too much directly in her face.

Nervously the little boy genius glanced at his sides, awaiting an enemy to attack, or government agents to break through the door and save him from the ultimate doom. But much to his annoyance, the only enemies around happened to stare dumbfounded at him and didn't seem considering to attack him any time soon.

'Darn it!" he thought disgruntled.

'Whenever you really need a villain to attack you, they're not available! Welcome to my life!'

The hall remained in silence. In his desperate situation, the thought came to Jimmy's mind, Cindy might fall asleep if they all just remained that quiet. With wide eyes he waited for this to happen, like 

a five year old child waited for the Easter Bunny to show up. Disappointingly Cindy didn't seem to fall wondrously asleep. Completely desperate about the situation, Jimmy actually did fret about that inconvenience inwardly. The scabbiness of his own idea was registered to his brain just a few seconds later.

Fussed, he bit his lip and let a small uncomfortable chuckle.

Where the hell was a crazed alien monster when he needed it? Or Sheen, Carl and Libby crash-landing his hover car and taking them home to forget everything? Or a space rock to crash in and interrupt the moment? Or something to catch his attention and clear everything up as a full out misunderstanding? Or at least they could be again on a roller coaster and he would notice that it led to doom in the last second! It had happened before! Why not now? There had been always something to interrupt them when they were getting well along or about to k….

'Don't go there!' he got a hold of himself, before his thoughts were drifting to a likely dangerous subject.

The audience became anxious because of the silence. The whispering got louder.

"I wonder what he said to her." Britney asked quietly.

"I don't know, but by the look of it this is gonna be good!" Calamitous whispered back.

Nick joined in.

"I've never seen Neutron that speechless…whatever it is, it will be definitely good stuff."

"I somehow get a feeling what it might be…" Betty mumbled with a tiny knowingly smile pulling on her lips.

Sheen on the other hand shook sadly his head.

"The dude is screwed." Carl agreed sniffing.

On hearing this Jimmy's mood got even worse.

"Completely hopeless…." Sheen continued.

"….Busted……his goose is cooked.…doomed……ruined……finished…….dead loss…"

Jimmy jerked furiously his head towards Sheen, who still was continuing his list, head shaking.

"I CAN HEAR YOU THANK YOU NOT VERY MUCH!!"

Sheen backed startled away and raised his hands in defeat.

"Sorry, dude! I was just being realistic! Because whatever ya did, it's obvious you will be completely mpfh…." Libby covered her boyfriend's mouth quickly with her hand and whispered threateningly:

"Sheen….as I am your girlfriend, don't take this the wrong way, but SHUT THE HELL UP!!" The last part wasn't really a whisper anymore. Sheen's eyes widened afraid as he nodded wildly. The rest of the crowd sighed exasperated at Sheen's behavior. Carl however, looked scared at the two of them and announced solemnly:

"That's exactly why I decided never to like girls."

Beautiful smirked at him and said in a nasty voice:

"I think you rather 'decided' that out of despair…."

Carl glared offended at her:

"NOT AT ALL!!", however his face softened a bit and he mumbled ashamed:

"Well….maybe…but that surely doesn't mean…"

"Gosh! I seriously need a mirror to recover from all this nerdiness!" Nick groaned annoyed.

Britney giggled densely, as if he had made a great joke, but asked then confused:

"Why would you need a mirror, Nick?"

Nick flipped proudly his hair and said:

"To see the coolness itself."

Almost every member of the 'jury' rolled their eyes at this one. King Goobot looked contemptuously at Nick and asked loudly:

"Weren't you the tiny earthling that screamed like hell, when you met our god the first time?"

The audience snickered silently as Nick's face turned deep red and nearly competed with the blushes on Cindy's and Jimmy's faces. For a moment they ignored the awkward silence between the genius and the blonde girl, who still stood wordlessly in front of them.

"I….I wasn't afraid….If that's what you think!" Nick tried to cover up, however that attempt ended rather pathetic. Libby and Betty both rolled their eyes as they saw the fascination that Britney listened to her crush with.

"Better a completely hopeless but cute geek as a boyfriend than that wannabe hero…" Libby muttered under her breath. Sheen however caught her comment and grinned broadly at her.

"That's my queen! I-….wait a second…" Sudden realization spread on his face.

"…hey! I'm not a completely hopeless geek!" he screeched indignantly.

Sam nodded his head agreeing.

"Yeah….the kid is just a case of above-average hopelessness…"

Libby just sighed once more, as she saw how Sheen smiled that someone defended him. After this whole thing was over, she figured, he might realize the whole message of Sam's words…and then the whole thing would start again…

Somehow she could understand why Cindy found their relationship so damn funny.

Meanwhile Nick was busy to protect the last remains of his reputation. Wildly gesturing and with heroic poses he tried to explain his actions, with Britney batting her eyelashes at him and the rest of the 'jury' getting completely lost in the middle of his senseless explanation.

Just then Ooblar decided to have some fun. From behind he flew to Nick and screamed:

"BOOOOOOOOOOOHHH!!"

Nick yelped in a _very_ high voice and jumped afraid a step forward. The others laughed freely at him, as Ooblar spun jolly around and said excitedly to his brother:

"See! I can startle these earthlings that easily! They're funny!" he clapped satisfied with his metallic hands. While Goobot just groaned ashamed, Corky Shimatsu watched the alien with sudden interest.

"Super crazy show! You've got very much charisma, my alien friend! Take my card and call me!" He handed Ooblar a card (with a different telephone number printed on, then on the card he gave Bolbi). Ooblar stared clueless at the card and asked:

"You want me to be a film star?"

Corky nodded friendly his head.

"You have vibrancy! The little…special…something! You're gonna be a superstar!! "

Bolbi blinked dumbfounded at the producer:

"Bolbi gonna be superstar…you said so!"

Corky waved the comment off and said distractedly:

"Yeah, yeah you're super crazy as well…however my alien star, what do you think? Do we have a deal?"

Ooblar smiled broadly and squealed:

"Oh, Goobot! Did you hear that? I'm going to be famous!!" he got a dreamy expression.

Goobot rolled his eyes.

"Not happening. No business with the enemy. Besides, whoever should I trade for sulfur butter, if you're going to be an 'earthling' star?"

Ooblar glared at his king and brother:

"You'd find another—_**you'd trade me for some piece of SULFUR BUTTER??"**_

Goobot chuckled lightly:

"Ooops….I guess I let something slip…"

"You're just jealous, because I have charisma and you DON'T!!"

Goobot rolled again his eyes.

"You have no idea how this hurts me…." He replied sarcastically.

Beautiful looked interested at him.

"There really is a place where you can trade your relatives against butter?"She asked, glancing at a certain old man behind her.

Goobot shrugged slightly:

"It's good butter…."

Eustace scoffed in the background. He didn't even want to know, what junk these people considered as 'good butter'.

Beautiful turned around and smiled sweetly at her father. Calamitous backed slowly away and asked nervously:

"Uhm….why are you looking at me like that, daughter?"

Beautiful just kept smiling.

"Oh nothing dad…"

She whispered quietly at Goobot:

"Give me the address."

The alien king nodded thoughtfully.

"You know…I think you get a piece for free when you bring two together…."

Ooblar and Calamitous exchanged worried glances.

Cindy glared annoyed at the jury, who immediately stopped talking. She sighed and said to Jimmy:

"You haven't answered yet."

Jimmy chuckled ashamed.

"Uh…yeah that's right…."

"So…." Cindy's cheeks reddened a bit more, as she hinted him to say something.

Jimmy's thoughts were going wild. Though the jury was blabbering like idiots, she hadn't forgotten what she wanted from him. He scoffed at himself. If he'd be at her place, he wouldn't have forgotten it either. But sadly he wasn't at her place. He was the one to be humiliated for life.

"So….." he echoed nervously and shuffled his feet.

Again an awkward silence hung in between of them. Jimmy still couldn't find another solution.

Well…maybe running away wasn't as impossible as he had led to think…

By the time the people would realize his escape, he would have gotten far enough away as to reach unmolested the lab…he would take the antidote and come up with an excuse and an explanation the other day…he just needed to run off and things would go back to normal…

Sure, Cindy would be ticked off, but she disliked him anyways. The townspeople already forgave him, that had been his goal and he had achieved it.

So why bother whether Cindy was angry or not? That way he could at least do away with her plan to humiliate him in front of everyone!

But as he studied the questioning (and unfortunately bewitching) gaze of her, he hesitated.

She seemed as if she really wanted to know. For a second he thought that she would maybe not humiliate him.

'_Oh get a hold of yourself_!' his logical brain half interrupted his own thoughts. '_That is Cindy Vortex, we're talking about! The girl that makes constantly fun of you, since you met her! The girl that seems to live to put you down! The girl that doesn't miss a chance to humiliate you_!'

The girl that was looking at him with her sparkling green eyes and pleaded him silently to explain everything.

Jimmy really wanted to run away and forget everything that had happened this day. But this look….this look Cindy send at him ….he got the sudden thought that maybe… she would be hurt if he just left here.

Actually, he didn't want to hurt her.

Jimmy glanced uncertain at the door. It was so easy…just a few meters and he would be out of this situation. Everything, _everything_ would be back to normal.

But maybe that wasn't so good after all?

Maybe…it was finally time for the truth...maybe things would change for the better? Maybe she really needed to know the truth…and maybe she wouldn't laugh at him or humiliate him….

'_That's a lot of maybes, don't you think?_' his voice of reason asked.

'The safest way is to rush out this door and never look back again! Look what other problems the truth serum caused you! Why should it be different with her, of all the people? Your enemy??"

But maybe they _both_ didn't want to be enemies anymore…

And maybe…just maybe…

'_You are pathetic!_'

…she would like him back?

The audience looked silent at the boy genius. They didn't know of his inner struggles and issues. They didn't see how he fought with himself whether he should leave for good or try to explain what had been on his mind.

All they saw were two young people with flushed faces, that both didn't know what was coming to them. Two young people everyone knew were blind with antagonism.

But something was odd about the situation…and the audience slowly began to ask themselves whether they have been the blind ones all this time along…

'Yeah right! And maybe Goobot is human! Stop to being so disgustingly hopeless and take your chance! The longer you wait, the better they'll be able to react quickly to your escape!' the reasonable side of Jimmy's mind screamed at him.

His gaze focused on the door. Should he really run away? It seemed logical. He wasn't even sure whether he liked Cindy that much. After another peek at the waiting girl however, he swallowed briefly.

Okay….he was sure. The truth serum had nearly made him speak it out loud unwillingly, but this didn't change the fact. He liked her. A lot. A lot as in: much-more-than-a-friend.

For a second the world went black in front of his very eyes. The confession he had just made to himself, caught his breath completely away. In one brief moment his own thoughts had torn down the wall of denial he had kept so carefully together ever since he knew that girl. And suddenly it was all too much to bear for him.

Confusion wasn't familiar to him. Emotions and decisions made by the heart weren't logically explainable. For once science let him down. Science couldn't explain what he felt right now, much less why for her out of all the girls. And most frightening science couldn't tell him what to do…or what would happen if he told her the truth. Science had been what got him into that situation.

But without logic, without science…whatever should he do?

Jimmy was afraid.

He would run off. He _had_ to. It was just too hard to face everything he just discovered that day (was it really just that day?) now. As sorry as he felt for himself there was no other choice. Maybe someday the boy genius would regret his run off…but as for now…

Even affected by a _**truth**_ serum, it was impossible to be honest to her.

Jimmy tensed inwardly. Nervously, he tried to ignore the piercing stare of Cindy and prepared himself to rush out the door….and ruin every unknown chance that possibly existed for him.

Eyes fixing on the door, he slowly counted to his escape.

Not a single soul in the room suspected him to run off. They knew the local boy genius for too long….Jimmy Neutron never backed away in a most desperate situation.

One…

Oddly fascinated the 'jury' stared at the two of them, awaiting his lips to open and answer Cindy's request…and the questions in their minds. For this certain room the time was standing still.

Two…

Cindy's hands were nervously clasped together as she waited dreadfully for a reply. Whatever he was going to say was capable of causing a change in their lives. And even though they were that young, it was maybe already high time for it. As hard as she tried, the blush on her cheeks just wouldn't go away. Fussed, she asked herself, whether she had even known how much was at a stake. Did Jimmy know how much depended on his answer?

Three.

Jimmy took a deep breath. Before he could rethink his decision once more, he tensed up and….

"I…I had indeed a reason to tell you the things I did….in fact…you could say these words were always on my mind, but I never ever could have said them out loud, if it hadn't been for the truth serum." These words came in a rush and barely comprehendible, but sounded throughout the whole room.

Sparks danced in front of his very eyes, as his own words echoed in his mind. Suddenly he felt very sick in his stomach.

'_Idiot! You had the perfect chance to escape! Why the hell did you screw up? Now it's too late to make everything undone!_' his voice of reason told him loudly off.

Cindy's eyes widened in amazement. She backed away a few centimeters, as she was trying to take in his words. Jimmy saw the complete puzzlement on her face and felt his own face brightening up once more.

The jury members glanced confused at each other. Though their anticipation, they all had in their minds, his answer still left them clueless. After a few seconds of shaking their surprise at his sudden outburst off, they leaned their faces slowly forward, fascinated longing for further explanation that helped them to unravel that mystery.

Jimmy looked ashamed on the ground. His embarrassment was obvious to everyone and the knowledge of that made it even harder to go on.

'_You wouldn't have that problem if you just had done what you should have done!_' His inner voice bored farther into his conscience.

'_But you just __**had**__ to-_'

'SHUT UP!' He yelled inwardly and hushed the voice. Although everything could go wrong from now on….he knew he had made the right decision. Jimmy had decided against logic…and yet he had made the right decision. It was that simple.

Sheepishly he continued, fully aware of the dozens pair of eyes set on him.

"I really meant everything I said…the things I told you, weren't influenced by any temporarily mood."Jimmy talked himself honestly into personal doom.

Cindy's expression had become an unsolvable riddle to him by now. The blush on her cheeks however, kept him hoping that she approved.

The girl blinked stunned. She shielded the audience completely out from her perception and aspirated questioningly in awe:

"So you really think I'm…I'm pretty? And intelligent? And you meant it when you said you said I'm kind of admirable?"

Though everyone in the room reacted different, the reaction in total could be described as collective _**shock.**_

If somebody had told them what had been waiting for them, they would have laughed. Heck, they would have called that someone crazy. Completely mad, insane, that kind of lunacy that got you locked away forever.

But it was happening. Right in front of them.

Another shockwave washed over them, as Jimmy nodded as response ever so slightly.

Everyone dealt different with their astonishment.

While Sheen and Carl stared shocked at each other, both one eye twitching and froze completely where they stood, Libby's lips were pulled to a little knowing smile. In her eyes sparkled the surprise, but mixed with relief and joy, as her friends' secrets were finally coming out. She never expected it to happen that sudden or this of all the ways, but she couldn't help but feel excited for her best friend to get her most secret wish fulfilled. The slight corner of Libby's mind that was still able to work properly, however regretted bitterly that no one had banned that moment on a camera.

She could have had so much fun with that material…

Sam's, Corky Shimatsu's, Principal Willoughby's and the mayor's jaws dropped perfectly synchronal to the ground. In a state of utter shock, all their thinking was paralyzed. Jimmy Neutron and Cindy Vortex were the most unlike pair in the town to ever come up with…everyone knew that, everyone!

On their side Miss Fowl lifted her glasses and stared wide eyed at her students. All the fights and struggles they had have replayed in her memory. And so she found herself simply blinking astonished at them, asking herself, how she could have expected _that_. However a tiny bit of relief spread already in her.

Betty giggled slightly amused at the situation. How long did it take the two of them? It seemed like ages to her. At her side, Britney shook disbelieving her head. She never would have thought the science geek and CINDY would end up together, after everything that had been….no one would ever believe her, that wasn't present here. A tiny smile however sneaked on her face. Just imagine what hell of gossip THIS would make! Suddenly she couldn't await them to get it over with and spill everything to the next person she saw.

Nick was completely paralyzed. The Vortex girl and Neutron? That was like…like…he was completely lost. He never ever thought this geek to get at least any girl…but now…Vortex?! Just wait till the 

guys heard of that! Bolbi on his right however didn't get anything. Clueless, the boy looked at his sides and imitated the stupid faces the others made….thinking this was a new game.

Beautiful Gorgeous had her eyebrows raised and thought of all her encounters with the boy genius. She certainly hadn't expected this….but maybe one could take advantage of that anytime soon…

Eustace just snickered as he thought of the ridiculousness of the situation and the embarrassment Neutron and his 'squeeze' would have to go through….the mood of the snobbish kid immediately improved by ten times.

Far from observing the situation, however was King Goobot, who found himself in the middle of Ooblar and Calamitous, who both pulled out a tissue and stared touched at the moment. Self pity left the alien king no room for thinking about his arch enemies business.

Jimmy noticed out of the corner of his eyes all these reactions and though he felt like walking on hot coals, it all seemed secondarily to him….the only thing that mattered suddenly was the reaction Cindy showed….if she would show any finally! The uncertainty of the situation made him desperately impatient.

Cindy's lips quivered slightly. With a deep breath she took all her bravery together (and put all the stupid pride that stood still in the way aside) and began:

"So you…actually kind of…" her voice failed, but the ashamed expression in her eyes made clear what she wanted to ask.

Jimmy's face burned hot red as he replied:

"…yes I ….I like you…as much more as a friend..." he flinched slightly at his own words.

He heard collective gasp following the collective shock. So far so good, he had embarrassed himself completely In front of nearly everyone he knew….way to go!

However the next thing that came out of his mouth wasn't planned at all….

"Duh! It wasn't that hard to figure out was it? I mean the way I blushed the whole time and was distracted by your pretty appearance today and the compliments I said and the way I loathed Nick for trying to hit on you and …oh crap." Jimmy stopped, as soon as he could his own rush of words…so much about gaining control over his actions.

Sheepishly he added:

"And the way I curse myself for inventing a truth serum that forced me into that situation …"

Jimmy didn't know what else to say. Ashamed he held his head down, picturing the amusement of the others due to his words. He felt so sick…he had told Cindy in front of them all how much he liked her just to be rejected and be laughed at for the rest of his life.

'Stupid voice of reason!' he cursed himself.

'Why the hell did you let yourself shut up by me?'

As he looked down at his feet he heard suddenly Carl's voice from the side….

"OoooooOOO…..he likes you…._Jimmy has a crush on Cindy_! Oh oh oh…" his supposedly best friend broke the silence.

Jimmy cringed once more. It was only a matter of seconds, till the rest of the audience would burst out in laughter and his whole life would be ruined…

Surprisingly the laughter didn't come.

Unbeknownst to Jimmy, who still held his head down; Sheen of all the people had covered Carl's mouth and whispered in a dangerous voice:

"Dude, Jimmy didn't screw it for Elkie and you, though you've been an ultra meanie…so don't screw this one for him, okay? Although he obviously has fallen for a mean, heartless, mad, sarcastic, not in Ultra Lord believing…."

Libby rolled her eyes as Sheen continued the list, but couldn't help to feel proud for him. The other members of the audience were still in shock, but silly Carl almost woke them and would have made things the worst for Jimmy…

However Sheen was lucky Cindy was too awestruck and concerned with her situation as to notice Sheen's and Carl's little dispute.

"…bossy girl and is now in a totally embarrassing and humiliating situation, we as his best friends have to take care he doesn't experience even more embarrassment, dude!"

Carl whispered quizzically back:

"….How can he possibly embarrass himself more? And since when are you so sure about those things?"

Sheen smiled:

"It's all written down in the Ultra Lord handbook of friendship, my friend…"

Being caught up in his racing thoughts, Jimmy completely missed, that Ultra Lord had prevented him from doom, right now. Instead he looked at Cindy again.

"Look…I know you don't return …_that_…and all, so maybe I should just….leave…."

The urge to run out of this room was suddenly uncontrollable. The jury took a deep breath as Jimmy started to walk towards the door. But in this instant Cindy stepped right in front of him.

The boy genius looked surprised at her and her still flushed cheeks. She smiled nervously.

"Well….Jimmy actually….you see…" she started hesitantly, looking shyly away from him.

Some whispered cheers sounded from the slowly awaking jury.

"C'mon you can do it….he did it as well, right?"

Cindy and Jimmy both closed in embarrassment their eyes. The good-meant cheers were making everything worse.

However Cindy opened her eyes and stuttered:

"I….uhm…I do really…I mean….I do…"

By now the jury hung completely at her lips. Was she going to say the obvious out loud? Were these two finally getting together? Would Retroville be relieved of the everlasting Vortex-Neutron feud?

Principal Willoughby rubbed his palms together, eyes glistening.

"This is better as any of my soaps!" he squealed happily.

"And so romantic….young love is always so wonderful…." The Principal became a dreamy expression.

Jimmy bit his lip as not to cry out because of the humiliation. Did he ever mention, that he _**hated**_ that day?

Cindy gulped hard and looked shyly into Jimmy's eyes.

"I do really like you as well…as more as a friend."

Jimmy felt as if he had been hit by thunderbolt. His mind had completely blackened out at her words. He had heard them, of course but his brain refused to comprehend their content. Dumbfounded he looked at her:

"I don't…understand." He said dazed. And that was completely the truth.

The jury member bit back their laughter at his expression. After all those years Cindy had finally found something her 'rival' did not understand. If it wasn't for their good manners and still existent partial shock, they would have burst into laughter at the irony.

Cindy raised confused an eyebrow. With slight shaking in her voice she said:

"I said I liked you too Neutron… a lot to be honest…" she smiled sheepishly.

Jimmy nodded slowly.

Just then the greatest amount of joy he had ever felt hit his very core, as he finally realized what she had said. For a brief moment he could have hugged everyone in the jury.

'She really….she…' even in his thoughts he couldn't express his sudden happiness. Instead he stared wide eyed at her and asked amazed:

"Really?"

Cindy nodded a shy yet hopeful smile on her features.

Without being able to do anything against it, Jimmy smiled back, the same silly happy expression on his face.

It was then that the jury decided to have a say. With half amused half glad faces they all sighed:

"Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww…….how cute………"

Jimmy's and Cindy's heads, both as red as a lobster, spun around. With death glares in their eyes they both shouted simultaneously:

"Oh, shut up!"

The jury members chuckled lightly at the embarrassed faces of the two children.

Betty looked expectantly at them.

"And….?" She said smiling.

A few others held the same look.

Jimmy and Cindy glanced confused at each other.

"What?"

The jury groaned at their obliviousness. Britney tried to support Betty:

"So….are you, like, two together now?"

The blush on their faces deepened, as they shrugged sheepishly and replied:

"Guess so…" they smiled at each other.

Britney obviously wasn't satisfied, though. With a meaningful look she dug deeper:

"As in a couple? You know….girlfriend-boyfriend?"

The embarrassment was clearly visible to see for everyone, but again the two nodded and replied:

"Apparently."

Britney rolled her eyes, as did the rest of them. Now Libby took over Britney's part:

"You _know_ what that _means_, don't ya?" she asked slowly.

Jimmy frowned completely confused. He had no idea what these girls were ought to bring out of them. But anyways he was still dealing with everything that just had happened. It seemed so….unreal. Cindy Vortex is arch rival ever since he moved here….she was now his…._girlfriend_?

Although he had just experienced it, part of him was in utter disbelief. How the hell did that happen?

Right….the embarrassing confessions in front of everyone…

Anyhow…how the HECK did that happen??

This day had held so many surprises for him…by now he felt completely confused yet completely happy. It was all so…crazy.

However, the girls weren't giving up yet.

"So it is official….?" Betty inquired.

Cindy stared blankly at the dark-haired girl and answered slowly:

"Yes….it is…"

Libby, Betty and Britney sighed frustrated.

Suddenly Sheen screeched impatient:

"For the love of Ultra Lord, they want you two to kiss!"

The three girls spun angrily around.

"SHEEN!!" They all cried. Sheen shrugged clueless.

"What? Don't tell me that wasn't what you wanted!"

Beautiful rolled her eyes annoyed.

"Oh this teenage drama…"

Eustace scoffed.

"That is why I, Eustace Strytch stay away from simpletons like this!" he made a disgusted face.

Nick smirked at him.

"A weenie like you would have gained a thousand wedgies on one day!"

Eustace scoffed once more and turned demonstratively away from Nick.

Jimmy and Cindy had by now reached a state of embarrassment and red cheeks, no mortal soul ever had before. At least it felt like it.

Cindy chuckled nervously:

"Oh….that's what you meant…."

Jimmy nodded helplessly:

"Yeah…"

Libby crossed exasperated her arms.

"Look guys. We've been waiting patiently here for …" she looked questioning at Calamitous, who said:

"Fifteen."

"…fifteen minutes to see you guys staring with cheeks as red as a fox at each other and stuttering the hell out of you…not to speak of all this time listening to your constant bickering…you OWE us that kiss, guys!"

The others nodded.

"There she's right…."

Cindy looked ashamed at them.

"But-"

She didn't come further, as Jimmy grabbed without further ado her hands and pulled her closer. For a few seconds their lips touched. Tingles spread through both of their bodies and they both felt something so wonderful and so beautiful, they had never ever felt before. It was nearly…magical.

As they parted, both with a silly smile engraved on their flushed faces, the audience cheered once more.

Carl and Sheen high-fived, Libby, Britney and Betty smiled excitedly at each other with that smile they always got when watching a very cheesy romance film (often followed by an expression of disgust by Cindy), the adults smiled at each other, the villains rolled playfully their eyes, Nick and Eustace…well they didn't make a big deal of it and Bolbi, Bolbi didn't get anything anyways.

Cindy rolled her eyes and groaned frustrated, though a smile lay still on her features, as she looked at Jimmy:

"You know that they are never going to let us forget this?"

Jimmy glanced at the excited people and swallowed.

"Oh yes…..that's true."

They both smiled warmly at each other, though. It had been their first kiss…they wouldn't forget it ever, anyways.

Suddenly the Yolkian anchor woman spoke.

"As you can see, we just witnessed, what the Earthlings would call a happy end. Thank you for watching and don't forget to switch–on next time, when galaxy TV is on!"

Jimmy and Cindy froze dead in their tracks. They slowly faced the Yolkian lady. Sure enough the fourth Yolkian behind her was carrying a camera.

Deadly slowly Cindy asked:

"Did you alien dweebs just….FILM US??"

The anchor woman shrugged carelessly.

"We wanted to offer the audience something special today. That trial was quite interesting...for Earthling's rites…"

Jimmy's eyes widened in unexplainable shock.

"You…filmed the whole scene….everything?"He gasped.

The Yolkian woman waved his question nonchalantly off.

"No your earthling leader 'mayor 'wouldn't allow it…but we were allowed to film from the finale ….until now."

"_**WHAT??"**_ Jimmy and Cindy cried horrified out.

Libby chuckled lightly.

"That's awesome! Hey, alien sister, can I have a copy of this please?"

"LIBBY!!" the two of them cried again.

Goobot laughed meanly.

"How does it feel to be humiliated in TV, Jimmy?"

Jimmy looked desperate at the anchor woman.

"Please…please tell me you weren't live sending anymore!"

The camera man said casually:

"Not on TV…this broadcast is displayed live on the intergalactic net."

Jimmy almost jumped.

"INTERGALACTIC NET??" he shrieked.

Cindy's face got paler and paler.

Sheen giggled at his friends expressions.

"Wow….you guys are famous….throughout several galaxies…."

Cindy grabbed his collar and screamed at him:

"That's so not funny!"

"Well actually it's very funny" Libby objected smartly.

The anchor woman interrupted them:

"You tiny Earthlings are already famous…remember the Intergalactic Showdown? You five kids made a lot of fans…"

Bolbi finally got something and shouted outraged:

"Bolbi there too! Six kids!"

Jimmy tore his hair frustrated.

"Who cares!" he snapped at Bolbi. He shook horrified his head, while Bolbi trotted offended away.

"This is…bad….very bad…."

The jury laughed amused. Nick wiped a tear from his eye and said:

"Didn't you listen, Neutron? That is way more than _hilarious_!"

Cindy shook ashamed her head. That just couldn't be happening to her. However she smirked at Jimmy:

"Neutron…couldn't you have told me you liked me, before ticking off the half city and an intergalactic film team?"

Jimmy smiled halfheartedly.

"It was obviously not meant to be…"

The camera man flew near them and showed them a small alien gadget.

"Here…look….you can read the commentaries on the show here…"

Libby immediately jumped at their side.

"Oh this is going to be priceless!" she smiled broadly.

Jimmy and Cindy just looked at each other and groaned desperate.

Libby chuckled amused as she read the first entries. Sheen asked loudly:

"What are they writing Libs?"

The girl just laughed. The newly found couple exchanged worried glances.

"….this one writes: I never knew Earthlings were that funny! But why did their faces get redder and redder every second? And another one: "Oh my gosh! Those were these kids from Intergalactic Showdown! I always knew they'd end up together! They were so cuuuuteee! Oh…or look at that one: It was so romantic how stupidly love struck they looked after their first kiss…I always knew they were meant to be… they're fighting during Intergalactic Showdown was so twee!"

Cindy buried her face in her hands, as Jimmy closed his eyes, praying for Libby to stop.

"This is so embarrassing…" Cindy mumbled through her hands.

"Oh…look at that one! It says: Jimmy and Cindy sitting in a tree and K I S S I N G!!See you, loser Neutron, yours Butch."

Loud laughter echoed through the whole room. Jimmy looked horrified at Libby:

"Butch? Our Butch?"

Libby nodded:

"According to the misspellings I've read ….yes!"

Cindy's face got even paler. Clanging to Jimmy's arm she cried:

"If Butch had seen it, the whole school will know….he will even show them!!"

Jimmy shrugged helplessly. There was nothing he could do.

"Friends….friends….there's no reason to worry! It could be much worse…." Sheen tried to cheer them up.

Cindy looked suspiciously at him:

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah….there could….maybe….uh….okay it couldn't be worse! Don't interrogate me!" Sheen gave up.

"Wait! That one is from April!" Libby cried excited. Jimmy looked interested at her.

"April?"

Cindy groaned and narrowed furiously her eyes.

"Great, what does Miss Greenskin want now? Sending you more kissy faces and love letters?" the jealousy in her voice was barely hidden.

Jimmy shook tiredly his head, forgetting for a brief moment the situation that would await them at school.

"Cindy she never did that…" he begun, but Cindy scoffed.

"Yeah, yeah no need to lie…"

The whole room looked at her awkwardly. Cindy noticed her mistake and mumbled:

"Fine…what does she write? Our _dearest_ friend April?"

Jimmy looked amused at her.

"I just…_kissed_ you, we got together and you're _jealous_ of April?"

"Me? Jealous? Never! And especially not of Miss Greenface!" Cindy objected immediately.

"Maybe _you'd _need a little drop of the truth serum…"

"And maybe you'd need a growth spurt, but we both know this isn't going to happen, so just leave it be!"

"You know if the truth serum would let me, I'd come up with something good to insult you, right now!"

"Oh…poor Jimmy, do you really think the truth serum is what keeps you from coming up with good comebacks?"

Principal Willoughby whispered to Miss Fowl:

"And I thought them together would put an end to this…"

"BRAWK….it seems I still cannot end my meetings with my therapist…cruel Fa-BRAWK-te…"

Jimmy read quickly the commentary by April.

"Dear Jimmy Neutron…" he ignored smiling Cindy's scoffing.

"If you read this, I wanted to tell you and your mate that I'm glad that things worked out for you two. It always seemed as if you had a thing for each other…and I apologize for calling Cindy unworthy…"

"And homely!" Cindy interrupted grimly.

"…for she proved her qualities in a fight well, when we stroke against Meldar. I hope we can keep up our friendship, greetings April."

Libby smirked at her best friend:

"Yeah girl…that is the evilness talking itself…"

Cindy narrowed her eyes and asked Jimmy:

"She really wrote that? You're kidding me right?"

Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Maybe I would, if I just _could_…"

Cindy raised her hands in defeat:

"Okay okay I get it. April is a real angel and I am so glad I even got to know her shining self…"

Sheen glanced nervously at Jimmy:

"Dude…she's scaring me…"

The boy genius chuckled lightly and said to his new girlfriend:

"You really don't have to be jealous…"

Cindy smiled at him:

"I am not…I never have been."

Though inaudible for everyone save Jimmy, she whispered:

"Don't you write her, without telling me…"

Jimmy rolled his eyes and nodded.

Carl looked oddly at his friends.

"I wonder what the guys at school will say to that…I mean I'm sure they'll laugh….and make fun of you…and rib you whenever they can…maybe even quote your dialogue to embarrass you…."

Jimmy and Cindy flinched a bit more at every of Carl's words. Sheen cleared noisily his throat. Irritated Carl looked at him and asked:

"Ultra Lord handbook of friendship?"

Sheen nodded proudly:

"Ultra Lord handbook of friendship."

Cindy glanced confused at them, then cried:

"Are you guys even aware of how horrible this is gonna be?"

Libby patted her on the shoulder:

"Calm down Cin, everything's gonna be very …Britney? Who are you talking to?"

Britney quickly hid her mobile and smiled sheepishly. Cindy groaned.

"Urgh…did you have to do that?"

Beautiful Gorgeous yawned bored.

"That is none of our business anymore …I'd say we all leave now, what do you think?"

The crowd agreed, glad of getting away from all this madness. Before Cindy and Jimmy could even say a word, the hall was empty.

Jimmy shook his head.

"I mean it was them who dragged me unconscious here! It wasn't me who begged them to bring me here!"

Cindy raised an eyebrow:

"Well actually you were."

"I wanted to explain everything, not a trial with you as judge!"

"Hey I've been a good judge!"

"…"

"I bet you could never have done the job like that!"

"Whatever Vortex…"

"You're just saying nothing, because you know you can't lie…"

"Did you ever hear the expression: The wiser head gives in?"

"Oh what's that supposed to mean?"

"Hmm…let's think about that Cindy….what do you think it means?"

"Oh don't be that way Neutron! By the way, you called me brilliant…in your face!"

"You won't forget that, will you?"

"Nope."

"Thought so."

"Anyways you're getting off topic…I'm just saying you could never…"

Happily arguing (though with some handicaps on Jimmy's side) they made their way home. On their way they talked about everything that had happened. Both couldn't still really believe that this was all real….

And they talked about the forthcoming embarrassment…

"Well…it can't be worse as the original scene, now can it?" Jimmy tried to cheer his new 'girlfriend' up. It felt so strange to refer to her like that…but wonderful at the same time. Although he still hadn't figured quite out, how the hell it did happen.

Cindy looked astonished at him.

"You really do believe that, do you? Otherwise you couldn't say that, due to the serum…"

Jimmy shrugged.

"What if I do?"

Cindy shook smiling her head and replied:

"You, Neutron, are a completely hopeless case!"

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah!"

Jimmy smiled suddenly.

"Maybe you're right…."

"Of course I am I'm Cindy!"

The boy genius smirked.

"And that tells us ….what?"

Cindy punched him playfully in the arm.

"Watch it, Neutron!"

Jimmy laughed. He couldn't believe how familiar he suddenly felt with Cindy ….but he liked it. Duh…he liked _her_.

'At least one good result due to that cursed serum….a wonderful result, indeed…'

"Oh but I do….you look very, very pretty today…" he spilled again his thoughts, before slapping his mouth.

The blonde girl smiled warmly at him.

"You know…I like to hear that, but I'd feel safer if you don't expose yourself to this serum again, to say it..."

Jimmy shuddered.

"Never ….I don't need the whole town chasing me down again…"

"And two intergalactic TV people…"

"That wasn't my fault!"

"Sure it wasn't…"

"That is unfair and you know it, Cindy!"

"Hmmm…let's recapitulate today's events, shall we?"

They arrived in their road. An awkward pause emerged as they stood in front of Cindy's house. Jimmy shuffled nervously his feet, because he suddenly didn't know anymore what to say. Cindy glanced shyly down at the ground, equally silent.

"So….insane day, huh?" Jimmy began to converse. He could swear to hear grills chirping in the back ground.

Cindy nodded.

"Yes you could say so…" her voice faded.

Just as Jimmy was completely lacking words, Cindy looked suddenly determined at him. She poked him with her finger in the chest as she spoke:

"Okay Neutron…we're now together….and you know what that means: Not messing around with me with the help of any of your crazy inventions. Not forgetting any date we're arranging. No embarrassing TV performances like this again. Don't leave me ever alone with Carl or Sheen…or worse with both of them together. And most important: No fawning, swooning or drooling in any kind over Miss I'm so perfect Betty, April….or any other girl for that matters. You got it?" She crossed defensively her arms, waiting for a response.

Jimmy smirked at her. Only she would tell him such a list out of the blue in that voice.

"You did hear what I said about Betty and April…."he tried to pacify her.

"Yes I did, but I don't want you to forget that attitude, Jimmy!" Cindy admonished him smiling.

As she went to the door, she turned around and kissed him on the cheek. Both blushed immediately, but enjoyed the unfamiliar and tingling sensation at the same time. They said goodbye and she reached for the doorknob, still slightly flushed. When Cindy closed her door, Jimmy spun around and sighed into the warm evening:

"Okay….that super crazy….and fantastic…"

Did he ever mention that he _**loved**_ this day?

Jimmy went smiling over to his own house, his cheek still tingling at the place Cindy had kissed.

He would destroy that serum, though.

His mother greeted him as he entered the house, still wearing that worried expression, but she bit back any comment. Jimmy smiled at her and said in his most cheerful voice:

"Oh mom you look terrifying in that ugly dress."

As her son rushed quickly upstairs, Judy yelled furiously:

"SOMEONE IS GETTING GROUNDED, MISTER!!"

He would destroy it as soon as he could. And he would laugh, while doing so.

The end

__

A/N: Not exactly the best ending, I know…but it was very fun to write! I hope you liked it and I didn't disappoint you…either way tell me by leaving a review, please! It was mushy sometimes wasn't it? Well what shall I say…I hope you still liked it!

_Love, firepearl!_


	14. Alone with girls

Alone with girls

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related! Not even the pearl from 'Stranded' I do so badly wish to own…great...there goes my day…**

_A/N: Hello guys! Thank you SO much for all the wonderful reviews I received for my last story! If it hadn't been for the reviews I would not have been able to write that much:)__!! Thanks to all of you! I am here now with a new multi-chapter story…probably not as randomly funny as the last one, but I liked the idea quite well…a little tribute to 'Stranded'…but not in the usual smooth and fluffy kind of way…as it won't be Cindy , Jimmy will be stranded with this time:)__…_

Swooshing waves flushed in the distance. Their watery tips sparkled in the golden light that shone down from a flawless blue sky above them, like diamonds flying through the air. Their sound weaved the peaceful melody of the deep ocean calling to the children of the sea. The gifts of the watery depth they brought unknowingly with them remained on the hot sand, as the waves died and faded into nothingness. With every new born wave thousands of different wet glittering mussels covered the tropical ground. In the air hung a salty flavor, the true taste of the ocean.

Places like this one were rare these days…a place where the nature had reached utter perfection, where peace dwelled in every sand corn, in every summer breeze and in every brilliant green leaf. A place with stunning beauty …and a dream reviving aura.

Many people would give their right arm to find such a place…but some would cut their arms off just to get away from here.

Jimmy Neutron was momentary one of this kind.

From behind the tropical trees with their rich, green crowns, he heard bickering voices. The sharp sound of the heated argument destroyed immediately the peaceful harmony that had lain over this island. His head was already badly aching. But no matter how far he walked away, the voices pursued him. They would never stop, not even in the nights, late after their fire had already burned down. It was an endless circle of fighting, increasing its power every second. And as hard as he tried, he could not find anything to stop it. It was like they were determined to drive him crazy…who would ever have guessed being the only boy with two girls on a deserted island could turn out as a real nightmare?

At least not him, that was for sure.

As he heard another loud cry of anger, Jimmy threw frustrated his arms in the air.

How the hell had it come to that misery?

On a bright nice day in Retroville, a bunch of children waited eagerly for the school bell to ring. The state of boredom, they had momentary reached was beyond any registered before. Miss Fowl's endless speech about a completely random topic did never seem to come to an end. Jimmy had stopped listening after the first word came out of her mouth…as far as he knew the topic's title began with

'_The_…'

…for that was all he remembered. As he begged silently for release, like every of his class mates, his gaze wandered through the class room.

At his right he saw Carl looking unhappy down at his paper. Apparently he had drawn something; Jimmy caught the glimpse of various shapes that did not resemble common letters at all. For the lack of any better activity he bent his neck over in order to eye Carl's artwork. With a slight shudder he remembered his own fairly poor attempts to put his imagination down on paper…as much as he hated to admit it, art just was not made for him.

He shook of the scenarios of humiliation and laughter off and returned his gaze to Carl's paper.

The boy genius frowned confused. A red heart? How…unusual. He never would have thought Carl out of all the people would scribble silly hearts over his pages…if he was not mistaken, Carl always had made pretty clear, that alone the thought of liking actually someone was giving him a heart attack. Jimmy asked himself if there was something his best friend hid from him….

But as his mind began to decipher the shape of the other two drawings, his eyes shot open.

Feeling sick in the stomach, he jumped all of sudden up, shaking his head in order to forget the horrible image.

"WHOA…!" he shouted disgusted and interrupted loudly Miss Fowl's speech.

All eyes set instantly on him. The children were eagerly expecting something to break the boring atmosphere. Since his cry had been obviously been clearly audible for everyone in the class, Jimmy felt an embarrassed blush creeping up his cheeks.

Miss Fowl lifted disgruntled her glasses.

"Is there BRAWK something you want to BRAWK tell us Mister Neutron?" she asked piercing through him with her gaze.

From behind Jimmy Sheen's head jerked suddenly up.

"Is the boring yadda yadda over?" he asked sleepily, causing a few kids to giggle.

Miss Fowl glared dark at the boy.

"NO!" she shouted outraged.

Sheen's left eye twitched confused. After staring blankly at his teacher for several seconds he finally asked:

"Why am I awake then?"

The class responded with another wave of suppressed chuckles. Miss Fowl towered angrily in front of Sheen.

"You are supposed to listen to me, young man!" she scolded him.

Sheen shook his head in utter amazement. Whatever was on his mind, it was obviously unexplainable to him.

"You actually want me to listen to you?"

Miss Fowl scowled at him.

"Of course I do!"

Sheen scratched puzzled his head.

"But…why are you so boring then?" he expressed friendly his confusion.

"This is no way to talk to your BRAWK teacher!!" The teacher ranted furiously.

"Is that how they taught you to teach children something? Puh-leeze I would like to have a word with the responsible persons!" Sheen, oblivious to his situation, stated.

"You little-"

"And all this time of 'learning' wasted…why did not anyone ever tell me I would have to actually _listen_ to you?"

Sheen shot suspicious glances through the class room.

"You wanted that, didn't you? All this time…you've been trying to get me down didn't you?" he asked with a sneaky voice, as if catching them in the act.

Miss Fowl screeched huffish at him:

"Sit down!"

Sheen simply ignored her:

"You ALL have been plotting against me, did you not? You wanted me to be weak, but HAH in your face, Ultra Lords most loyal adherer will never be put down!! GLORY, GLORY FOR ULTRA-"

"Sheen sit down, you are giving me the creeps…." Carl whined and covered his face fearfully with a school book.

"-LORD!! I see through your treacherous scheme, unworthy ones! I will-"

"Sheen, sit down. You're **way** embarrassing…" Libby said calmly while rolling her eyes at the sight of her crazed boyfriend. Sheen was already on the table by now, gesturing wildly with his hands and proclaiming his message with an (intended) mighty and heroic voice, swinging his ruler like a sword through the air.

"-make you suffer for this betrayal! Regret will be carved in your faces and revenge will be mine!!" Within a dramatic pause he turned around to face Libby. He managed an extremely exaggerated heartbroken expression and wailed:

"Oh my shining precious one…have you been part of this vicious plot? And how it pains my heart to see you turned against me…Why Libby, oh why??Why is fate so cruel?"

"SIT DOWN!!" the whole class cried, exasperated by Sheen's scene. But Sheen would not be Sheen if he would not have ignored them as well. With a histrionic gesture he pointed with the ruler at his chest as if he was going to stab himself. He glanced with played hurt at Libby and announced solemnly:

"Too great is the pain…yet I cannot turn against the queen of my heart…Shall this forever haunt your memories, treacherous ones, for I cannot longer take it! " His gaze turned to the ceiling and he breathed:

"Ultra Lord come and take my soul. I come to-"

"Oh for God's sake sit down or I punch out every of your teeth!" Cindy yelled annoyed.

The ruler immediately drooped to the ground.

"Yes Madam." Sheen sat down with one fast movement.

The class stared amazed at Cindy. Their respectful fear of her increased by a fair share.

Miss Fowl rubbed startled her eyes. Sheen sat preppy on his seat, not moving or misbehaving a bit.

"Well Sheen BRAWK to come to our previous conversation…" she started but Sheen interrupted her again:

"Why the hell am I awake? I was so sure I had a real good nappy a few moments ago…."

"SHEEN ESTEVEZ!!" Miss Fowl raised the volume of her voice again in anger. Sheen did not even blink.

"You know it's very impolite to scream when other people are trying to get some sleep." He rebuked her as if that was the most obvious thing in the world.

Miss Fowl's jaw dropped at his complete obliviousness. Shrugging, Sheen lay his head down on the table again and mumbled disgruntled:

"Teachers…"

Without any other struggles, he fell asleep again.

Miss Fowl gaped. Her mouth quivered for a moment:

"But…but…." She shook her head.

"Sweet dreams…"she mumbled helplessly. With that she went in front of the class again, now completely ignoring Sheen.

Since Jimmy was still standing on his spot, ever since he had jumped up because of disgust, she narrowed her eyes again and asked him:

"So Mister Neutron…was there any reason, that you BRAWK interrupted my lesson that BRAWK sudden?"

Jimmy shook sheepishly his head.

"No…I've been….what I mean is I…uh…well I was being…uh…yeah…ahem…I"

"Wow Neutron! You improved your conversation skills over summer! I'm deeply impressed….your vocabulary does now contain the very intelligent words: uh…yeah…ahem! Keep practicing!" Cindy mocked him maliciously as he still did not get a word right out.

Of course loud laughter immediately followed by his classmates. Jimmy looked ashamed down to the ground, as his cheeks went deep red out of embarrassment…and anger. Why did she always have to do that? He looked at the triumphantly face, Cindy made. Did it give her some thrill? Was it her special way to get a good mood by constantly making him feel bad? Did she feel proud and mighty afterwards?

He did not know the answer but she certainly knew how to make him furious. And although he did not like to admit it, it hurt him a bit. Not solely her words…he wasn't a weenie, he could put up easily with them most of the time…but the obvious pleasure she took in abusing him. That was what pained him somewhere deep within.

After they had been stranded on that island he had believed that she at least accepted him. Perhaps even cared a bit about him…but she here she was still behaving the same towards him, treating him like dirt and picking on him whenever she had the chance to.

Jimmy had kind of liked getting along with her…but obviously that meant nothing, not even the least to her. And although he tried to get reasonable and forget about all that had happened, he could not help but _be_ hurt by that fact. Because it did mean something to him….it really did.

He sat down and shook determined his head, trying to shake all this parasitic thoughts off.

If she did not care about it…well then neither would he.

The bell final rang and redeemed the poor children. Before Miss Fowl could even blink, her students had rushed out the door, leaving a cloud of dust behind.

Cindy went to the school yard, gazing absently at her surroundings. She had forgotten her pencil case, thus she had to go back and fetch it. Now that she was walking alone down the school's floor to meet her friends outside, her thoughts were drifting.

It had been two weeks since they returned from the island to Retroville. And despite everything that had happened back then, nothing had changed. As soon as they had been home again, everything went back to normal again…and whatever might have developed between her and Neutron had vanished again.

She tautened. Sure…it was partly her fault. She had not made a great effort, to change things…she had been uncertain…confused. The safest had been to go back to her old role again…even though she realized she did not like that role completely anymore…but now it was too late anyways. They were back to their normal lives and the way they went…

Perhaps it was the best like this. She remembered those balefully lines she had just read this morning, and flinched. This was the way their lives were supposed to go.

Cindy reached unconsciously down into her pocket. Her fingers clasped tightly around a round object. Its surface was perfectly smooth…not the slightest asperity.

She sighed uncomfortably as she let go of her pearl. She had been truthfully that day…it really had been the nicest thing anyone had ever done for her…she smirked lightly at the irony. Of all the people, her arch enemy had made her the most beautiful gift she had ever received.

It was not only the beauty and value of the pearl…but the fact that he had searched through 137 oysters to find this one for her…how many other people she knew would ever do such a thing for her? Taking such efforts, while being stranded on a deserted island, without any hope of ever returning home, just to give her a pleasure?

If someone asked her to, she could not tell them at least one.

But that was meaningless now. They both had moved on with their roles and it was too late to change that.

Plus she did not get out of her head what she had read today morning.

She approached the door that led outside and she winced as she remembered this article. For a moment it had torn her apart that much, that she remembered the precise wording by heart now. In her head she replayed that scene.

Her mother had a lot of books at home. She always would tell her, that reading was what educated a human being. And since she took great care that Cindy was educated as much as possible, she kept books at home for nearly every topic.

This morning as Cindy had been getting ready for school her gaze fell on a book that lay open on the sofa in the living room.

As she took a closer look at it, she discovered that this book was about human's behavior schemes. She had smirked about that. Her mother read a book about human behavior…but she certainly did not act always as if she ever did hear of that matter…

However since she still had have time left till the school bus would pick her up, she scrolled bored through the pages. Her gaze had focused casually at a certain passage…and so she had begun reading...till her eyes shot open wide.

_When people are in extreme situations, their actions often get quite unusual. The former situations we explained already affirmed that, but now we want to take a look at another of these 'extreme situations'. Taken the situation, for example that two people get lost alone somewhere without any human help in reach or prospect of soon coming rescue, their behavior towards each other will most likely change. _

_When all they have is each other, these two will automatically develop certain feelings for each other. That is a natural reaction…our mind tries to prevent us from going insane. To avoid loneliness, which is agonizing for a human being most of the times, the development of sympathetic feelings will start. These two said persons will feel as if they really cared about each other, and will not even notice that _this affection is not real. _It is only a kind of self-preservation our mind has up his sleeve. This is especially very often the case, when said two persons have to face some kind of dangers together. The simple need of companionship, the fear and confusion, and the gratefulness they might experience while helping each other is making our brain believe that they feel deep affection for each other. The most miserable effect of this scheme is however, that the concerned two persons sometimes even after their adventure believe that their feelings were real. In almost every case this leads to broken hearts when they sooner or later realize that it all had just been a façade, a hiding place for their hearts. This behavior scheme has been proven thousands of times, often seen on people who survived a crash-landing and found their selves in deserted areas. _

_But the simple fact is that: When two people are lost and only have each other, they will develop affection towards each other…._no matter whom they are lost with._ Fear and loneliness always bring them together. It is just a matter of the extreme situation, nothing more._

It had been then that Cindy had dropped the book.

Now as she was walking outside, the words still echoed in her ears. Not real? Everything she had thought to feel….an illusion? Just an instinct of self-preservation? It could not be.

But had she not herself admitted that everything had straightly went back to normal as soon as their _'extreme situation'_ had been over?

It hurt somewhere in her heart. They did _really_ have not had anyone else but each other….they _had_ been facing danger…and as for her, she _had_ been grateful that Jimmy had rescued her life.

So it had all been a lie? Something her own mind produced out of despair?

It really felt as if something was gnawing on her inside.

She remembered the end part of that article and shivered sadly.

"_No matter whom they are lost with…"_

So Jimmy had not found the pearl to make _her_ a pleasure. He would have done it for any girl, any girl he would have happened to get lost with. And the pearl, the pearl she had kept so dearly as a treasure…it stood for nothing. It could have been any girl. It just happened to be her.

She felt replaceable. And miserable.

As she spotted her friends, she noticed another person standing next to them. The person was slightly taller, had dark hair….

Cindy groaned frustrated. Of course…Miss I'm so perfect Betty Quinlan. The sweetest and kindest girl in the whole school. The most beautiful girl around, with her dark, full and shining hair, her deep and big chocolate brown eyes and the most perfect face a girl could wish for. The crush of all the boys…the star of their school. Always friendly and gentle, always wishing you the best, always cheering you up, no matter how desperate you are. The most wonderful girl alive.

As if Cindy's day had not been bad enough, yet.

She felt immediately anger boiling inside of her, as she heard the charming laughter of Betty, sure enough with Jimmy standing aside and drooling over her, with that half-dazed expression that always made Cindy wanting to slap him.

Even though she would never admit it, she knew just too well what jealousy was.

'…_this affection is not real...'_ echoed through her mind again.

She bit angrily her lip. If it was not real, why did she feel so torn apart by the look Jimmy gave Quinlan? Why did it hurt so much, if none of that had been real?

She approached them, not bothering to let the disgruntled frown on her face disappear. She was Cindy…no one would ever be surprised about that.

Another shot of Betty's perfect laughter reached her ears. She felt immediately the urge to tear them off.

"Oh that is really funny, Jimmy." Betty smiled warmly at Jimmy.

Cindy did her best not to cringe as she saw him smiling silly at her and replied:

"I…uh…yeah…thanks Betty…."

The way he pronounced her name almost made Cindy vomit. Perhaps the scene was playing exaggerated in her vision…perhaps not, it did not matter. She felt very bad.

Sheen jumped into the picture, proudly showing off his latest doll.

Cindy scoffed…no matter how often Sheen would repeat it, she did not see a difference between an action figure and a doll. Not that this ever registered to Sheen's brain…if he had even one, that is.

"Look at this Betty!" he started to brag about his toy.

Cindy raised an eyebrow. They were obviously starting to include Betty into their circle of friends. Sheen talked with Betty about his Ultra Lord…Carl sniffed in her direction and made from time to time a comment…Libby…well Libby was listening to her headphone…but was it just Cindy's impression, or was she really not as absent as usual?

Ridiculous fear arose in Cindy…Betty was not only taking all of Jimmy's attention…now she was even stealing all of Cindy's friends with her sugary perfectly gentle kind of being.

Cindy felt again so replaceable…

…or perhaps she was being paranoid.

Betty's smile had sunk a bit, as Sheen was still talking about his toy. She looked oddly at him and said politely:

"Thanks Sheen…that is very…interesting, but I think...I do not understand that much of special weapon types…"

Sheen's face fell for a moment. Disappointed he sunk his arm and mumbled:

"Girls…"

Betty returned to her conversation with Jimmy…which was very one-sided since Jimmy would only nod and gaze admiring at her most of the time.

Just then it hit Cindy. The article had been right. Completely and utterly right.

Jimmy had not really liked her a bit…whatever feeling drove him to find her that pearl, had been born solely out of the situation. It really meant nothing…not more as a 'hi!' somebody said to you on the school's hall.

He had a girl he _really_ liked. One he did like even without her rescuing him from a giant human eating plant. One that did not need to be stranded on a deserted island with him, to get him to like her.

And it was not her. She just happened to be there at the right time on the right place.

Even though she knew it did not help anything, she felt hot hatred for Betty dwelling up in her for a moment.

The perfect Betty who got everything she ever wanted just because. Even if others wanted it as well.

And the worst thing was, you could not even blame her for that, as she did nothing to steal it away from you. She was always nice…the things she wanted just came to her, without further efforts.

Jimmy grinned stupidly at her.

"Yes…I uh…I always liked that too….really…" he stuttered dizzily.

Just then Cindy decided to step in. She just could not take it anymore without at least do something to abuse him verbally…it was the only way he paid at least a bit attention to her.

"Why Neutron….you still haven't gained normal people's vocabulary, have you? Poor little nerd…never stop hoping!"

Libby looked over as she heard her best friend's sharp voice. She rolled immediately her eyes.

"Oh my…here we go again…." She sighed mentally.

Sure as always, an argument started that instant. Libby shook her head, while turning on the volume of her headset. She knew exactly why Cindy reacted the way she did, when she saw Jimmy talking to Betty.

But unfortunately there was nothing Libby could do for her. As she watched how they both threw insult after insult at each other, she felt sudden chagrin. Cindy was her best friend and to see her hurt, bothered Libby much more than she showed it. Usually she did not like to interfere with other peoples' business but this one bugged her.

She had always been so sure Jimmy would feel the same as Cindy…but suddenly she did not know whether she was right or wrong…it was just so confusing how he constantly used to drool over Betty…

Libby really wished she could do something for her best friend…if she just knew _what_!

As her gaze fell on Betty who tried to stop the fighting, she frowned. She had no real relationship to that girl…she was nice and kind and gave Libby no reason to dislike her. But personally Libby thought she was too sugary, too sweet and innocent. If she was forced to spend a lot of time with Betty, Libby surely would get annoyed…but else…

Libby increased the volume of her music once more. As hard as she tried to stay calm and fair, she could not completely. She knew it was partly Cindy's fault she was even in that situation…and she knew Betty never did anything to harm anyone…

…yet Libby could not help but feel negatively about Betty, for the hurt she caused Cindy. It was not fair, not at all. But hey! She was a girl and Cindy was her best friend! No one could expect from her to be utterly and completely fair.

As she decided to let these thoughts fade and concentrated fully on her music, she missed the argument that brought them all into the misery.

"Oh yeah Neutron? Why don't you take a look at yourself and see what is really pathetic?"

"That was a so not intelligent comeback, Cindy, but what else should I expect from someone like you!"

Cindy crossed her arms and glared at the boy in front of her. He would probably never know how much that little statement hurt her…she would not let him know.

"What is that supposed to mean, Nerdtron? Just because I am not brain dead enough to admire all your so called 'achievements'?" she shot back.

"Brain dead enough? No Vortex you got that wrong, you are way to brain dead as to ever appreciate something world--"

"Guys!" Betty's sweet voice resounded resolute.

She stepped determined in between of them and pulled them away from each other. Cindy scowled at the pretty girl…of course in a perfect Betty Quinlan world, arguments could not exist.

Her heart sunk as she saw how Jimmy's expression softened as he looked at Betty. The deep angry frown that had just been engraved on his face faded slowly into nothingness. Just the simple presence of Betty seemed to calm him down…Cindy bit her lip hard out of jealousy.

Betty…it was always her and no one but her.

Was it so much to ask for that Jimmy would appreciate her for herself, just once? Not because he was out of his mind due to an extreme situation, or a stupid Love Potion?

Betty looked dispraising at them, as if they were two little kids that got caught while stealing a cookie from the jar.

"Can you keep it down please, just this once? Your fighting is hard to bear all of the time."

Cindy restrained the strong urge to punch into her pretty perfect doll face. What right did she have to interfere, to tell them what to do and what not?

Jimmy however flashed Betty that adorably dizzy smile of his and replied dreamy:

"If that is what you want Betty…."

That did it. A strong wave of jealousy hit Cindy's core and she felt like exploding here and now. With a voice as sharp as a razorblade she spoke derisively:

"How low can you get, Neutron? She could ask for anything, anything and you would do it without thinking twice!"

The meaning of her own words carved deep into her mind. Jimmy would do anything for Betty…no matter what or when…just because he _liked_ her that much.

Jimmy scowled at her, yet tried to keep his voice casual, as he did not want to displease Betty.

"Low, Vortex? You just think so because _you_ would never do something nice for anyone!"

His words cut deep into her heart. She was not always mean to everyone…she _did_ nice things, too. She just did not show this side of her often…especially not to him. But why should she? On that island she had let her guard down just for once in her life…and now, what did she gain in the end? Hurt. Nothing but hurt.

Maybe her bad tempered side was the only one he was supposed ever to see in her. It had secured her so many times from getting hurt…it was just how things were meant to be.

So she took all her anger together to shield herself and sought for a good comeback to spat into his face.

"Nice? I am talking about your obsession over her! Frankly, she could bat her eyelashes and beg you to take her to the end of the world and you would find that spot, even if it does not exist, just to please her!" she yelled at him.

At their sides Sheen scratched thoughtfully his chin.

"The end of the world…hmmm….sounds familiar…hey wasn't that where I went to summer school once? "

Carl shook disbelieving his head at his friend.

"But Sheen…there is no end of the world!" he indoctrinated him.

Sheen looked pitifully at the red haired boy and said deathly seriously:

"Believe me. Summer school IS the end of the world."

Carl shivered as he met the honest gaze of his friend. Sheen's eyes widened balefully, on his face appeared a scary demonic expression.

"It's a place where your deepest fears come alive and doom pursues you till no one hears your screams. A place so- OH MY GOODNESS!! That was a big fly!!" Sheen screeched suddenly and went after the insect as to catch it.

Carl shook his head once more.

"Why am I friends with such a weird guy?" he asked himself, then sat down to continue his drawing of him and Mrs. Neutron at their wedding…master piece number seven in his collection.

Betty made another attempt to interrupt them.

"Oh Cindy you like unusual vacation spots?" she tried to direct the conversation in a more civil direction. She ignored the unnerved look Cindy gave her and continued:

"I for example always loved tropical islands. It is my greatest wish to visit one, just once and see the brilliant ocean water…the bewitching nature in perfect harmony…" With sparkling eyes Betty smiled cheerfully at them.

Jimmy's gaze veiled again dizzily and he said dreamily:

"A tropical island? With my vehicles I could bring you there no problem and fulfill your wish…"

"TO THE HOVERCAR!!" Sheen's loud voice made them all flinch startled.

As he noticed how he had shocked everyone with his loud verbal attack, Sheen shrugged clueless and asked:

"Did I get ahead of you again?"

Libby joined now the conversation.

"Do you really intend to summon such a drama again, like two weeks ago?"

Jimmy waved that statement carelessly off.

That small gesture made Cindy swallow hurt. He did not even care a bit about what had happened anymore. Not the slightest.

"Oh please I will take care the hover car has enough sprit for at least three weeks and we will pack enough food as to survive a month…just to be sure."

Carl looked fearfully at his friend.

"Are…are you sure?"

Sheen grabbed his shoulders and shook him violently:

"Are you NUTS?? This is our chance for another totally crazed up adventure!!" his eyes narrowed.

"Don't screw it or I tell Jimmy who the poems in your diary are about!"

Libby blinked at them.

"Poems?"

Cindy added equally surprised:

"Diary?"

Betty asked:

"You read Carl's diary?"

And Jimmy made a disgusted face and whispered:

"My mother?"

Carl's eyes widened afraid and he nodded quickly.

"Sounds like a good idea! I'll take my inhaler and hope the insects won't bite me…and that I don't get any illnesses…or allergies…or that an animal will eat me…or that I hurt my scapula or…"

As he looked at Sheen, his friend had fallen asleep, his hands still slightly grabbing Carl's shoulders.

Carl scoffed and cried offended:

"Taking care of your health is important!!"

Jimmy looked encouraging at Betty.

"What do you say Betty? We could start today after school and stay there for weekend!"

Betty pondered that for a moment, but finally a smile formed on her face and she nodded.

"Sure Jimmy. It might be fun."

Cindy shook scowling her head. With her arms crossed she mumbled:

"Oh how romantic…Jimmy and Betty alone on a tropical island…" her voice cracked as her eyes shot wide open.

No way. There was no way she could leave these two alone!

She never would have thought she would ever feel that great amount of gratefulness towards Sheen, but as he opened his mouth to speak she could have hugged him (as disturbing as this thought was).

"Hey Jimmy…we wanna come too! We're your best friends!" he said as a matter-of-factly.

Cindy couldn't tell if Jimmy was inwardly protesting against that idea as to spend more time alone with Betty, but he nodded and said:

"Sure Sheen…I guess I owe you guys that."

She cringed. What for did he owe them that? For rescuing him from spending his time with her on the island? From unwillingly developing affection towards her?

Libby shook her head.

"I'm outta this you guys! In the end I'll just wind up with tweedle dee and tweedle doo over there on the bright blue ocean! Not again!"

Cindy bit worried her lip…if Libby did not go, she could not as well…everyone would immediately suspect something if she went without her best friend.

Surprisingly Sheen was again her savior as he jumped to Libby and begged:

"Please my queen!"

"No."

"I'll call you shining one forever if you come with us!"

"In that case…double no!"

"I will throw myself down your feet."

"No way, mister."

"I will cry and beg."

"Nope."

"I will punch Carl for you!"

"HEY!! I will tell that all my stuffed llamas and one day you will regret that…."

"Why would that influent my decision?"

"Dunno…I ran out of ideas…oh…okay…if you do then you won't have to come with me and watch the new Ultra Lord action sci fi movie that-"

"Let's find that freaking island!" Libby immediately cried out.

Cindy smiled amused. Obviously Sheen had tormented her with a lot of Ultra Lord.

Libby looked at her best friend.

"But I won't come without my girl!"She stated determined.

Cindy pretended to think hard about that. With a false unwilling glare she murmured:

"All right then…if you insist…"

Libby smiled knowingly at her.

Meanwhile Jimmy said cheerfully:

"Then it is settled!"

He glanced dazed at Betty, obviously day dreaming again.

Carl looked nervously at all of them.

"Guys …do you really think that is a good idea?"

Jimmy smiled confidently at him and replied:

"Oh please Carl…whatever in the world could go wrong?"

_A/N: Oh oh…famous last words, right? Well this was not the most exciting chapter ever, but we have to get the story started! As always I beg you all to leave a review and tell me how this chapter was…and what you think of the idea itself! Oh and I'm not sure whether Sheen and Libby were already together two weeks after 'Stranded'….but let's pretend they were as it is necessary for the story line:) And as you certainly noticed there will be a lot of JC romance in this story as well (my usual I guess:))__ …By the way, since school starts for me in three days, I will only be updating at the weekends from now on…I have to defend my position as class best (Roooaarr!!):)__ …anyways I really do hope you liked it!_

_Love, firepearl!_


	15. Alone with girls: Chapter 2

Alone with girls chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron. I do not own anything related. Not even one simple Purple Flurp. One question: Why is fate so cruel??**

_A/N: Hey guys!! Thanks for the reviews!! I'm glad you like the idea of this story! Now after one week of school for me (sigh) here is the second chapter This is going to be a humorous story most of the time, but this chapter will be not throughout all pleasant I'm afraid…well the story has to develop Oh and one more thing: Please excuse the creepiness of the first scene…I simply couldn't resist Anyways here you go…._

Carl smiled as he approached the Neutron's home .He went with his right hand through his hair and after checking his teeth one last time in his little hand mirror, he cleared his throat and knocked gently three times against the door.

Sure enough it opened a few seconds later and Mrs. Neutron's face appeared. She gazed friendly down at Carl, however slightly confused as she had no idea why Jimmy's best friend was grinning at her like that.

"Why hello Carl…are you going to meet Jimmy any time soon?" she asked startled. Obviously her son had not informed her of his plans for the weekend, yet.

Carl's face assumed a grotesque shape when he tried to smile seductively at her. On seeing the grimace on his face Judy cocked irritated her left eyebrow. Nowadays Carl was always acting so weird…maybe she should ask Jimmy whether his best friend had any problems at home.

As she let Carl in and noticed the scent of aftershave she shook smiling her head. She understood. Oh these boys were growing up so fast…Jimmy's behavior already had changed slightly…and apparently Carl was changing as well. Whoever would have thought?

She closed the door and remembered the days when Jimmy and Carl were younger… times when Carl ran away from Jimmy's attempts to make him try out his experiments. Sometimes he would come to her to the kitchen and hide from her son. He always would have told her a lot about his fears and allergies…and though she did never really listen, she could remember vividly Carl's fear and disgust of girls.

Obviously he had finally let go of the impression that all girls had cooties…maybe she would ask Jimmy later, which nice girl Carl had laid eyes on.

"So what are your plans for today?" she questioned casually, as she returned to bake a pie.

Carl leaned against the kitchen counter in an attempt to look irresistible like in the stars in those romance movies, formed his supposedly seductive smile again and replied:

"Well…_Judy_…" he emphasized her name with a meaningful voice, but she just kept on humming a silly melody, obviously not getting his hint.

"We were planning on going on a weekend trip and it will be…fun…I suppose…yeah…." His voice grew weaker as he remembered the plans of his friends.

Judy pounded absently the dough and nodded.

"That sounds fine Carl…."

The red-haired boy swallowed hard…memories of giant spiders and lonely days on the sea came back to his mind.

"…on a tropical island far away from here in an area nobody of us has ever been to and we could get lost forever or get tropical illnesses or we could get eaten by giant snakes or accidently get poisoned or breath in deathly gas or….or …I AM SCARED BUT SHEEN FORCED ME TO AGREE SO JIMMY WOULDN'T KNOW I AM WRITING POEMS FOR YOU--R COOKIES!!" Carl suddenly burst out as all the horror swept over him.

Judy filled the dough into the baking pan and said distracted:

"That sounds really great Carl…I hope you have fun…"

Carl slowly calmed down and remembered his original reason why he had come already.

He attempted to look very tempting again and cooed:

"Anyways …we're starting in half an hour…but I came extra early _just_ to talk to you, Mrs. Neutron…" he cocked meaningful his left eyebrow.

Jimmy's mom however, still seemed not to listen to him.

"Oh that's nice Carl…"her voice trailed off…she was definitely worrying about another matter right now.

"And…you look very nice today, if I might add…" Carl tried his luck with compliments.

"Hmmm…that dough tastes odd….maybe I took to less sugar?"

"…But you look always very nice, really!" he attempted to dig deeper…unsuccessfully.

"I don't get it…did I take three eggs instead of four?" Judy continued sorting out her baking problem.

Carl's mouth quivered in frustration.

"And…you…you…ugh…I… I AM A BAD GENTLEMAN!!" he whined loudly and threw his head back.

Judy frowned disgruntled.

"Oh silly me…I forgot the milk…"

As he finally accepted the fact that she did not pay attention to him, Carl hung his head low and shuffled slowly outside, clearly disappointed about her disinterest in him.

Jimmy's mother slapped her forehead because of her own denseness and started to bake again.

Approximately one hour later, her head jerked suddenly up, while her eyes shot open in shock.

"Tropical _island_? _Snakes_? _Poison_? **JIMMY**!!"

But her son was not in reach anymore to answer.

.

Jimmy just loaded the food into his hypercube when he spotted Carl shuffling towards him with a sad expression on his face. They were in his back garden, the hover car standing next to Jimmy, waiting to get started.

"Hey Carl!" he called his friend from the distance.

"What are you doing already here? We still have about twenty-five minutes!"

Carl approached him and opened his mouth to say something, when suddenly someone jumped out of the hover car.

"Hey guys! What's up?!" Sheen screeched loudly.

Jimmy turned shocked around and put a hand on his heart, hard breathing. When he came back to his senses he cried at Sheen:

"Where did you come from?"

Sheen looked disbelieving at him and said slowly:

"Dude…I just came out of the hover car…."

He went to Carl and whispered with a frown:

"I thought he was supposed to be a genius?"

Carl stared blankly to the ground and stated:

"My life is meaningless…nobody pays attention to me…"

Sheen patted him absently smiling on the back and replied murmuring:

"That's awesome dude…Hey Jimmy; could we visit an island with a volcano??"

Jimmy simply stared wide eyed at his friend and asked bewildered:

"And why Sheen?"

Sheen clapped excitedly his hands:

"I wanna meet the god of fire! And then I will beg him for a bit of his power, making me Sheen…the FIRE PRINCE!! EVERYONE SHALL BEWARE!! HURRAY!!"

Jimmy rolled his eyes:

"Sheen…have you been watching Ultra Lord recently?"

The Mexican scoffed offended:

"Duh! Can you name a day that I did NOT watch Ultra Lord?"

"Well…that's true..."

Sheen still shook disbelieving his head:

"Seriously dude. If all you've gotta do as a genius is asking the most obvious questions, than I claim myself a genius now, too!!" he made a proud face.

Before Jimmy could say something to his misguided friend, they heard a new voice calling:

"Hey, you dweebs! Ready for the catastrophe? "Evil chuckle sounded.

Jimmy grew automatically angry and narrowed dangerously his eyes.

"Actually I'm never ready to see you, _Vortex_, but whatsoever…" he retorted immediately.

Cindy smirked mockingly at him.

"Just keep practicing Neutron and one day you might beat a two-year old in a verbal fight...I will send you a congratulation card when you do, that is, if I am still alive then, of course…"she teased him merciless.

Behind Cindy, who enjoyed her triumph, stood Libby watching the whole scene and rolling her eyes in annoyance.

They were not even there for one minute…Maybe Ultra Lord would not have been that bad after all…

…nah what was she thinking?!

Jimmy opened his mouth to retort with a sassy comment, when Sheen jumped in front of Libby and Cindy and proclaimed excitedly:

"Hey Libby, Cindy check it out! I'm a genius now!"

The two girls exchanged odd glances.

Libby raised her eyebrows and asked slowly:

"A genius…?"

Sheen nodded eagerly and flashed them a bright smile. Cindy frowned and tipped with one finger against her chin, pretending to think hard:

"Let' see…genius…Sheen….a genius….a genius named Sheen….sorry, Ultra Loser, these two words are unfortunately not compatible according to the data!"

The hyper boy just scoffed at her reaction.

"Oblivious one! I AM a genius and I can prove it!!"

From behind Jimmy called tiredly:

"Sheen…just leave it be!"

But his friend just waved his advice off. With a grim face he explained Cindy:

"I thought about it-"Libby interrupted him disbelieving:

"Did you just say you _thought_?"

"Uh…yeah…."

Libby nodded slowly.

Suddenly she broke down, rolled over the ground and burst into uncontrollable laughter. Her friends strangely glanced at each other as they watched her roll over her stomach again and again.

Cindy glared accusingly at Sheen:

"I've never seen her in a condition like that before…what did you do?"

Sheen shrugged clueless and replied:

"As I was just saying, I thought about it and-"

"He thought!! Sheen Estevez thought!! This joke is too priceless!!" Libby cried out while laughing.

"- I found out the secret of being a genius!" her boyfriend continued proudly, ignoring her outburst.

Jimmy groaned exasperated knowing what was going to come…

"A genius is simply a guy who dresses differently, has weird hobbies and asks the most obvious questions, but formulates them so that no one knows what he is talking about! Tadaa!" Sheen finished his explanation.

Cindy simply blinked at him.

"Soooo…." Sheen added, "I decided I can be a genius as well!"

Now did the blonde girl burst out in laughter, too. Jimmy shook frustrated his head...every time he was in public in with Sheen they ended up bringing somebody to laugh uncontrollably…or in some cases considering suing them.

If he thought about it, he had seriously no idea why he was hanging out with Sheen.

Cindy asked between heavy giggles:

"So…_giggle_…that is your secret…._giggle_ Neutron? Jeez…what for an honor to be a genius!"

"Hey, Sheen is not a genius and besides…"

But Jimmy was not able to continue as Sheen came over to him, patting on his shoulder and saying:

"Do not get angry Jimmy…it is completely understandable you feel jealous…"

Jimmy blinked confused at his friend.

"Jealous….?" He asked slowly.

"Yes, I mean I know you have been the one and only genius in town for a long while…"

"Uh…Sheen…"

"…and I know it is hard to let go…but you have to face the truth, dude!"

"Sheen."

"Due to the divine revelation, Ultra Lord shall be blessed; I am now a genius, too."

"Sheen!"

"And that means you are only the second genius in town anymore, as much as I feel your pain, dude…"

"SHEEN!!"

As usual Sheen ignored Jimmy's outcries and told him cheerfully:

"But hey! See it from the bright side! Now you have someone to do all the genius thingies with!"

The little boy genius stared blankly at him.

Sheen flashed him a last encouraging smile than hopped with one fluent movement into the hover car and begun busily to pull several metal strings and other devices out.

"What are you doing??"Jimmy cried appalled.

Sheen's head appeared over the edge of the hover car.

"Well what does it look like, dude? I'm doing genius thingies!!"

Jimmy's right eye twitched, yet he tried to stay as calm as possible.

"Genius thingies?"

Sheen stood up in the middle of the vehicle and showed him several of the devices and strings he had pulled out. He narrowed his eyes, scratched his chin as if thinking hard and observed them.

"Well let's see…that one is definitely…shiny, yes it is very shiny indeed. "He explained as if being a scientist dictating his assistant his discoveries to write them down.

"And…this one looks important, very important….and these are uh…. Thingies for flying and these…well…uh…thingies with unpronounceable names and these…uh…well…"

"SHEEN!! STOP DAMAGING MY HOVERCAR!!"

Sheen cringed shocked and gazed carefully at Jimmy.

"But I'm not…_damaging_ it! I'm _improving_ it!" he stated sullenly.

As he saw the daggers in Jimmy's eyes however, he let the devices immediately fall to the ground and hopped out of the vehicle. With his gaze downcast he mumbled offended:

"Loner…"

Cindy wiped her eyes, which had gotten wet due to the laughter.

"Wow…I never knew what losers you guys really are…"

Jimmy immediately got angry at her again. Why did she always keep on putting them down? Was it not bad enough the other kids at school were calling him and his friends nerds and made fun of them whenever there was the chance? He was aware she was his arch enemy, but even for her was it plainly cruel to open these wounds day after day. Why did she always take so much pleasure of torturing them? It was driving him nuts.

With one loud cry he let out all his frustration about her:

"Then why bother to come with us, Vortex?! It's not as if any of us 'losers' ever wants to spend time with you!!"

He was so caught up in his wrath, that he did not see how Cindy flinched slightly at his words. If he had been more attentive, perhaps he would have seen, that he had hit her just as badly with this statement as she did hurt him…reminding her once more of her misery and those lines she had read this morning. But Jimmy was as oblivious as he was always around her…he did not notice a thing.

Cindy gazed deeply into his eyes, almost piercing through him and freezing his inside. She replied cold and icily, her voice deathly even… it sent shivers down his spine.

"I am not here for _any_ of you." her facial expression was as hard as stone.

Unaware of the scene, Carl commented lachrymosely:

"I am unimportant…nobody cares about me…"

"The _only_ person that I care about is Libby. She pleaded me to tag along …so here am I. This is none of _your_ business, Neutron, so stay out of it."

With this said Cindy turned around and went, inwardly fuming, to help her best friend up who was lying on the ground and recovered from her out of character burst of laughter.

Jimmy stared speechless after her. Never before had he seen Cindy Vortex that emotionless and _cold_.

The pang in his heart returned with stupendously force. Cindy hated him. She simply hated him.

He cursed himself that this cognition was getting so badly to him. Had he not known it all these years? Why was it suddenly so hard to bear something he had known for so long?

"_Because you have not known it, stupid!"_ a silent voice in his head whispered.

Frankly…he always had known she saw in him her enemy, as did he the other way round. Yes, they disliked each other...always had…and if you asked them, Retrovillians would always say' These two do really hate each other…'…but real _**utter**_ hate?

Hate as in: I'd-kick-you-one-last-time-when-you're-already-lying-dead-on-the-ground?

Or as in not to flinch a bit when the other one gets hurt badly? Simply to let the other down and abandon them, no matter which baleful fate the other faced?

He never had thought so.

But this icy voice…this cold way she spoke to him…that _was_ hate.

And as hard as he tried to chase these feelings away, his heart ached at the thought that he was _hated_ by her. Especially after their time on the island together…no he really had to forget about that once and for all…it had meant absolutely n o t h i n g.

_She hated him._

.

A few meters away, Carl still looked miserably at the ground, mulling over his own misfortune and misery.

"No one cares about what I am saying…no one ever listens to me…"his voice grew weaker with every word.

Just then he knew it. The real utter truth:

He knew he would never be jolly again…never laugh again …or giggle…or chuckle…or...be content or….

"Hey Carl? You wanna hear a real genius talk?" Sheen asked hyper and interrupted his self pity party.

Nonetheless Carl looked blankly up …dully…with empty eyes…

…as his face broke into an admiring smile and he asked:

"Wow…Sheen…you really are a genius like Jimmy now?"

Sheen nodded proudly. He went over to his friend and whispered conspiratorially:

"Dude…don't tell Jimmy, but I think I might be even a greater genius than him…"

Carl looked wide eyed at him.

"No way!"

Sheen just smiled gently.

"Oh but my friend it is true…"

Carl listened astonished to his friend, not wasting one thought to his 'misery' anymore.

He simply was not the type to act all depressive.

.

Jimmy was just finished with repairing the disaster Sheen had caused when a familiar voice sounded from behind the five children.

"Hello guys! What a wonderful day to go on vacation, isn't it?"

They all turned immediately around to face Betty, as gorgeous as always. Jimmy smiled dreamily at her and hurried to lift her small suitcase into the hover car.

He was not aware of the death glare; Cindy sent the two of them. God, he was acting so pathetic around her…always grinning like an idiot, mumbling and admiring her…her anger at him doubled. Just to see his face with this expression made her blood boil…but after the scene that just had happened, her chances to change something about this had reached a completely new low…

She just bit her lip so hard that it nearly bled and hopped into the hover car when Jimmy symbolized them to, trying not to care about it.

Oh how she hated that girl and everything that had to do with her, right now!

.

The blue water glistened beneath them. After driving for nearly two hours in super speed they were now far over the pacific ocean, only one hour from their destination away. Oddly enough it had been silent on board except for a few comments by Carl and Sheen. Cindy and Jimmy would not even look at each other, while Betty who was seated next to Libby had nothing she could talk about with them. They never had really hung out together before. The silence was quite disturbing.

Jimmy took a routine look at his armature, when he felt suddenly breath in his neck. Startled he turned around to gaze directly into Sheen's wide opened eyes.

"AH!! Sheen what is it??" he cried out. The hover car swerved lightly as he forgot to navigate for a few seconds.

His friend glanced sheepishly on the ground, twiddling his thumbs and asked hesitantly:

"Well…Jimmy see…since I am a genius too now …"

Jimmy rolled his eyes exasperated at that one. He did not even want to know what Sheen's request was.

"…I thought…that maybe…well uhm…I could drive the hover car for a while??"Sheen glanced hopefully at him. In his eyes glistened dangerous excitement.

Jimmy however rejected his wish without even pondering it.

"No."

"Oh come on! With my new found brain powers…"

Sarcastically Jimmy inquired:

"Which ones?"

"…I can easily handle a vehicle like that!!"

"No Sheen."

He would never **ever** let Sheen navigate his precious vehicle. Not even in an alternate universe.

"Oh please!!"

"No way."

"But…but...oh please let me drive it!!" Sheen fell on his knees and begged him with puppy dog eyes.

Libby called unnerved from the backseats:

"Sheen sit down and stop buggin' Jimmy! Have you already forgotten your little problem with the auto pilot?"

Sheen sighed heavily and replied, emphasizing every single word:

"But. I. Have. Not. Been. A. GENIUS BACK THEN!!" he yelled loudly out.

Carl covered afraid his ears.

"You are giving me the creeps, Sheen!! Why do all geniuses have to be so scary??"

Jimmy turned around and glared offended at Carl:

"HEY!!"

Carl sunk down in his seat.

"Just saying…I mean Calamitous is evil… Sheen was evil when he wore that thingy that made his head as big as a balloon… Baby Edie is evil….Evil Jimmy is evil…"

Jimmy rolled his eyes.

"Hence the name 'Evil Jimmy', uh Carl?"

"…Jimmy why aren't you evil then? You're a genius too!"

"Because…"

"WHO CARES?? I am a good genius now and I just want to drive this baby here!!"

"Forget it Sheen!"

"AW Man…"

Carl tried to pacify his friend, as Cindy and Betty just shook their heads, both of course not noticing that they were actually agreeing about one thing...that Sheen was a very troubled boy.

"Come on Sheen…I'm sure Jimmy knows best how to drive this hover car…"

"WHAT?? I am just as much of a genius as he is; I looked through the genius scheme, Wheezer!!"

"Ya well…but you will never be as good at driving it as Jimmy!" Carl retorted, obviously eager to start an argument with Sheen. The awkward silence before had gotten its worst out of them.

"And Jimmy's mom will never love you!"

"WHOA! Guys stop talking about my mother like that!!"

"…now who has more chances to reach their goal, uh Carl??"

"You are such a…"

"Ultra Lords wrath will pursue you and…"

"GUYS!!" Betty Quinlan cried nervously. She did not like it when two people fought that much…it was getting badly on her nerves.

"Whatever are you doing?" she asked head shaking.

Carl and Sheen looked confused at each other.

"Well I was about to punch Carl in the face…"

The red-haired boy nodded agreeing:

"Yeah I was going to headlock Sheen…"

Betty sighed…these were crazy kids.

"But what is the point of that, guys. Is it not better when everyone gets along with each other?" She looked gently at them.

The two boys looked ashamed to the ground.

"I…I guess so…" they both mumbled like two five year olds.

The dark-haired girl smiled relieved. At her side, Cindy scoffed, clearly audible.

"Of course…in a perfect Betty Quinlan world everyone is jolly and loves each other in peaceful harmony…"

Betty replied seriously:

"What is wrong about that, Cindy?"

Before Cindy could answer, Libby jerked up at Betty's side. Confused she blinked and asked:

"Did I….did I miss something?"

She had been listening to her music all the time.

Cindy crossed her arms and snapped:

"Oh just how Miss Perfect settled a dispute between dumb and dumber over there in a completely _perfect_ way, of course…"

Libby sighed and muttered to herself:

"Oh oh…why did I even ask …."

Jimmy however, turned angrily around and said to Cindy:

"Why do you always have to be that mean to Betty?"

Cindy arose from her seat and asked equally furiously:

"Why do you always have to stand up for her, no matter when?"

Libby glanced nervously at the sky and asked:

"Uh…guys…is it just me, or is the sky darkening?"

Jimmy stood up, setting the hover car on auto pilot. With a hot face he yelled back:

"Just because you don't know how to treat people, that-"

"I don't know how to treat people?!"

Betty followed Libby's gaze and grew worried as well.

"Guys…is that a storm arising?"

"Yes! You do not! You are not even able to be a bit social at least!"

"Oh yeah?!"

The sky grew indeed darker and darker. Beneath the hover car, the waves became more wildly every second and twirled angrily around. Strong wind began to blow and shook the hover car in dangerous ways. Afraid, Betty and Libby clang to their seats, , on the left side, while Carl and Sheen on the right side of the hover car hugged each other in fear when they heard the first thunder already growl.

Cindy, who stood on the right before Carl and Sheen by now and Jimmy who was in front of Libby and Betty on the left side, however were oblivious to the bad weather.

"YEAH!!"

"At least I know how to treat pathetic worms like you!!"

A strong squall shook the vehicle heavily. The four children on the back seats screamed loudly in fear. Libby crept carefully past Jimmy and took a look at the armature. Her eyes widened.

"That is really bad guys!!" she yelled over the sound of a loud thunder and Jimmy's and Cindy's yelling.

"Oh my god what is it Libs?!" Carl cried out in horror.

"Apparently the system to stabilize the hover cars position is not working anymore!! We are as shakable as a leaf in the wind!! It's impossible to get the hover car under control, once the wind turns the hover car to one side!!" Libby skimmed through the status description.

"What?? But why??"

Hastily, Libby continued reading:

"Because some devices are apparently missing…"she stopped.

She, Betty, and Carl turned around to look darkly at a certain new claimed 'genius'.

"SHEEN!!" they all cried simultaneously accusing.

Sheen chuckled uneasily, as a flash light appeared near them.

"Hehehe….guess my genius work wasn't helpful at all…"

Another thunder growled. The four children shook like a leaf.

.

"How do you even dare to call me pathetic!!" Jimmy yelled completely blind out of wrath over the conversation of the others.

"Who is creeping like a tongue dragger after Miss Betty, uh?? Who of us is fulfilling her every wish! Just look at you! Driving her to a pacific island just because she mentioned that she liked them!!"

"At least I am no cold hearted and harsh girl that has no feelings!"

Cindy's mouth closed for a moment. Blind anger boiled in her. How did he dare to say that she had no feelings? How did he even DARE??

Another squall shook the hover car and nearly made her fall to the ground. Simply balancing herself, she furiously screamed at Jimmy:

"I HAVE NO FEELINGS?? You are such a rude little….stupid BRAT!! NO one likes you, not even a soul cares about you!!"

"AS if anyone would ever like a beast like you!! You know what I do so…"

"I show you what for feelings I have!! I do absolutely…"

The sky was as dark as in the night, by now. The wind shook the hover car up and down, to the right and to the left like a feather. The four children in the back seats prayed for their dear life as they watched Jimmy's and Cindy's fight…there was nothing else they could do than to watch.

A flash light bolted down next to them.

"_**I HATE YOU!!"**_

Just then it started to rain merciless.

.

The thunder echoed just distant in their ears when Libby, Sheen, Carl and Betty looked horror-stricken at each other. Never _**ever**_ before had they heard Jimmy and Cindy screaming _that_ at each other.

The rain soaked them quickly, but they simply stared at the two of them in shock. For a few moments the situation on the hover car was frozen…despite the hell weather that shook it heavily through the air.

None of the children on the hover car could believe what just had happened…they all were completely paralyzed, trying to _understand_. _Understand_.

And then it hit them. The strongest squall so far hit the hover car with all its might and turned it on the left edge. Before they even realized what was going on, Jimmy, Betty and Libby started sliding...

"LIBBY!!" Sheen yelled out in horror, trying to reach over.

But it was too late…with loud screams, the three fell out of the hover car…down into the wild waves of the ocean.

_A/N: So that's it with chapter two! Liked it?? Disliked it?? Not worth caring about?? I really need to know!! Oh oh…the hate-word-bomb, I know, I know…anyways I hoped you liked it! Oh and please don't be angry with me, it's not entirely Sheen's fault…Jimmy should have listened to Libby's warnings Is anyone even reading these author's notes?? If so…__**REVIEW**__ please!! Next chapter will be up next weekend, I hope!!_

_Love, firepearl!_


	16. Alone with girls:Chapter 3

Alone with girls 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related. That's exactly why I always have to write these Disclaimers.**

_A/N: Hey guys! Here i am again, with the continuation of the story! I am glad you are interested in the story and i am so grateful for all the revies I received!! Thank you! Now let's go on, shall we? :)_

„GIRLFRIEND OVER BOARD!! GENIUS OVER BOARD!! WHAT'S HER FACE OVERBOARD" The hysteric voice of Sheen rang through the cold air and nearly drowned the deafening growls of thunder. With wide opened eyes and his hands clanging to his wet seat, he bent his neck as to look down at the blue depth that had swallowed his three friends in the glimpse of a second. His mouth quivered helplessly, repeating over and over his words.

"LIBBY OVER BOARD!! MY LIBBY IS OVER BOARD!!"The thunder swallowed his words.

Next to him, he could hear Carl crying senseless. The piercing screams of his friend sent shivers down his spine. As good as he could he tried to turn around and face Carl, but nearly got shook out of the Hover car. Realizing that there was nothing but to stay on his place, he turned his gaze again to the twirling surface of the ocean.

Cindy eyed the water beneath equally shocked. Her face had drained out every color in the matter of seconds. Her mind was racing, overwhelmed with all the emotions she felt at this moment and yet paralyzed. Fear and disbelief formed a cold, painful knot in her stomach. Unwillingly, the incredible scenario replayed over and over again in her head…Libby, Jimmy and Betty sliding…Sheen crying…and suddenly three bodies falling down to the angry realm of the sea.

The rain smashed against her face and drenched her completely, but she did not even notice the cold bites on her skin…her mind was completely stuck with this few seconds. Her fingers clasped unconsciously tighter around the smooth stakes that prevented her from falling down…listening petrified to the growling thunder and the wild swooshing of the waves beneath her.

The Hover car was now completely out of control. The storm threw the vehicle around like a leaf and turned it to every possible position. The only thing the three remaining children could do was clanging to something and praying for dear life not to fall off as well. Squall after squall tossed them further away from the spot where their friends had just fallen off…but unfortunately there was no possibility they could gain control over the vehicle again…if they just let go of their grip once, they would be thrown down and god alone knew whether they would survive this…

A lump formed in Cindy's throat. She did not even want to think about the fate of her friends…What were the odds to survive this fall off? In the middle of a hell-like storm, floating in the ice cold water of the sea?

Her memory switched painfully back to the moment before the accident, when Jimmy and she had cried simultaneously those baleful words at each other…the echo of their words rang merciless in her ears, clearer and more vivid than the thunder growls ...

Desperately tightening her grip around the stake once more till her knuckles turned white, she closed her eyes and a single, brilliant tear slid out. It rolled slowly down her face and merged with the rainwater that streamed down her features…but the salty taste of that single tear remained on her lips, though.

...

The first thing he felt was grave-like cold. A completely new sensation of cold…nearly burning his flesh. His body went completely numb in seconds. He tried to wave with his arms, but they were paralyzed. Water swapped over and over again into his face, taking his breath away and causing his face to hurt badly. His vision was veiled, the salty sea water biting into his eyes. Waves shook his numb body violently to and fro.

Jimmy had not even realized his situation yet; his mind was simply fighting the urge to give in to the pain. His mind was completely frozen in the thousand sensations and emotions he experienced at this moment. All around him was water, blue icy water and the wuthering sounds of the thunder, somewhere above him…although he did not know anymore, where 'above' was.

Another freezing wave tossed him around and immersed him deeply. He gasped hard for breath, as salty water began to fill his lungs. His chest started aching, desperately crying for oxygen. His already numb body turned too heavy as to move just the tiniest bit. Slowly did blue depth surround him…and he sank deeper and deeper into its cold embrace. Like a stone he drowned nearer and nearer in direction of the sea's ground…almost levitating through the brilliant, yet slowly suffocating liquid. His senses were slowly fading away, as the cold water and the desperate need for breathing were overwhelming him. Pictures faded past his very eyes…blurry pictures of his life. With every passing second, his vision blackened more and the pictures turned into ghostly shades, nearly invisible. He could barely feel anything anymore…

…but then a new picture came to his mind. It was clearer and more vivid than any of those before…

"_**I HATE YOU!!"**_

Suddenly pain spread inside his body…not comparable to the freezing one he suffered on the outside. This pain hurt in a very different way. It was sharp…burning…and absolute.

In the glimpse of a second, his body revived jerkily. The sharp needles that stuck from the inside made him awake immediately out of his dangerous trance.

Once the strong sensation, shook him up, he felt his arms again…and noticed how his lungs screamed out of lack of oxygen.

With all the will strength he could bring up, he tried to move his arms to get back to the surface. Though he did not feel his legs anymore, he kept on paddling determined towards the surface, the only concern on his mind: the simple need to survive.

The flow was horrific strong…it took all of his power (and power he did not even possess) to restrain it. Luckily for him, the sea calmed slowly down…very slow, indeed, but it was enough for Jimmy, to survive.

With a hard, greedily gasp he breathed in as strong as he could, as soon as he got his head out of the salty water. The waves still pushed him from one side to the other, but at least they weren't strong enough, to drown him again.

Jimmy paddled carefully through the water, trying to prevent his body from getting all numb again. In the distance he wondrously noticed the shapes of two bodies flowing in the waves, only a few meters away from him.

He was immediately reminded of the two girls, that also fell out of the Hover car, along with him. Fear for his own life, had made him forget about them for these baleful minutes under water and the struggling for getting to the surface.

The icy water squished over and over again in his face, but he just kept on paddling forwards, determined to reach the girls. Above him, he saw how the clouded sky slowly cleared.

His heart sunk with fear, as he saw how lifeless the two bodies drifted through the water. The boy clenched firmly his teeth and prayed that they were not as bad as he feared.

With the last reserves of his strength he reached the fragile body of Betty. His heart beat faster than any time before, as he took a look at her face. He sighed relieved.

She was unconscious, but still alive.

He wrapped carefully one arm around her, and pulled her with him, as he approached paddling the body he recognized as Libby's.

The dark-skinned girl was completely frozen at some places, but he could still see her breath weakly. He wrapped his other arm around his friend, and tried to pull both girls with him.

Jimmy had no clue how long his strength would suffice, to carry both of them…nor did he know, where at to carry them at all. None of them, including him, would make it much longer if they did not get out of the cold water.

He looked completely exhausted at the almost blue sky and welcomed the first warm sunbeams that caressed his face. Jimmy had no clue where to take them…but he hoped the clearing of the storm was a good sign.

...

Cindy bit desperately her lip. Her grip was getting weaker…she did not know how much longer she could hold her position. The Hover car was still lingering boundless through the air, pushed by any squall that hit it.

They were now probably miles away from the spot, were the others had fallen off…and still the storm did not seem to calm down.

The blonde girl cringed fearfully, when the Hover car was pushed to the right side. She almost had blanked out Carl's perpetual outcries of fear…and she almost even ignored the brutal thunder growls…but that dangerous position they were in now, was seriously giving her the creeps. She glanced longingly at the armature…if she could just reach over; she might probably find a way to control the Hover car…just perhaps….

But letting go of her grip was suicide.

No….she corrected her own thoughts. Not suicide….because that would mean that falling off would automatically equal to get killed…and that would mean that Libby, Betty and Jimmy….

She had to concentrate on her own situation right now. A strong squall pushed the vehicle nearly upside down. The three children screamed in fear.

Just then Sheen found his voice.

"I'M GOING TO RESCUE US!!" he yelled out and almost tried to let go of his grip.

Appalled, Cindy screamed at him:

"What the HELL are you thinking?! Keep holding your seat for God's sake!!"

The Hover car turned to the other side. The abrupt change made the girl sick in the stomach…but that was her least problem right now.

"But I am a genius and I can…"

Cindy bit her lip once more as the vehicle turned again on the former side…if this continued she would definitely throw up.

"JUST STAY WHERE YOU ARE!!"

"But-!"

"NO BUT!! OR I'M LETTING GO TOO AND KNOCK YOU RIGHT DOWN TO THE OCEAN, BEFORE I'M FALLING!!THAT WILL HURT I PROMISE YOU!!" Cindy cried completely hysteric, in fear, they might lose another friend to the ocean waves.

"Guys…I'm…I'M SCARED!!" Carl finally broke with the senseless cries and whined painfully.

Cindy closed her eyes and felt the rain running down her face. Whispering she replied:

"We're all afraid..."

As she opened her eyes again, she blinked halfheartedly hopefully. Was it just her imagination, or did the sky clear up?

"Guys!! I think the storm might go away!!" she yelled at her two friends.

"What?!" Sheen cried back. The Hover car lingered dangerously to the left side.

"I said the storm might go—"

"WHAT?!"  
"THE STORM GOES--"

"WHAT?! I CAN'T HEAR YOU!!"

"THE STORM GOES-"

Suddenly the Hover car fell over the right side and was thrown towards the ocean. Without any chance to reach the controls, Cindy realized in shock, that they were about to crash …

"…Down…." She mumbled aghast.

"How can the storm go down?!" Sheen inquired yelling.

Cindy's expression turned from fear to anger and back to fear.

"Not the storm's going down, you nimrod, WE are!!"

Sheen tightened the grip around his seat and asked calmly:

"Oh…that isn't good, right?"

Cindy shook slowly her head.

"No…not good at all!"

The Hover car shot down through the air, getting closer to the ocean every second. The minds of the children were racing. Sheen whined mournfully over the slowly fading thunder:

"WHY DO THE GOOD ALWAYS GET THROWN INTO THE WATER?!"

Before Cindy had the chance to react, the Hover car crashed with a huge splash into the ocean's surface.

A few seconds later she felt the waves swapping over her face. The cold sensation made her jerk her head up. Uncertain and slightly afraid she looked at her surroundings.

The Hover car was floating…in the middle of the ocean. She finally allowed her fingers to release the stake that had prevented her from a similar fate like Libby's, Betty's and Jimmy's. From the corner of her eyes she could see Sheen; rubbing confused his head and Carl, one hand on his heart, grabbing quickly his inhaler.

Cindy shook disbelieving her head.

"We're…stuck….in the middle of this sea…" she mumbled blankly.

Sheen scratched frowning his chin and looked puzzled at his friends.

"Am I the only one who gets a major Déjà-vu? "

...

Jimmy heaved, more unconscious than alive the girls' bodies on the shore. He had absolutely no clue, how he discovered that island, but he was so tired and weak right now, that he simply did not care anymore, where he was and why.

He let himself fall exhausted on the warm sand of a tropical beach and enjoyed the moment…although not for a long time.

Weakness overwhelmed him. His vision veiled strongly, but from the corner of his eyes he could see Libby stir.

Jimmy snug deeper into the sand and waited for unconsciousness to get him.

But just before he thought everything to go black, he heard Libby's sullen voice for the first time since their fall-off.:

"This is just _perfect_…now all my clothes are _soaked_!! Way to go!"

He passed out.

_A/N: I am sorry for the short length of this chapter...but I hope you still liked it:)!! Please tell me anyways how it was via...REVIEW...big shocker there, uh? Please I need to know your opinion!!_

_Love, firepearl!_


	17. Alone with girls: Chapter 4

Alone with girls 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related. If I would..._'starts to daydream'_**

_A/N: Hello guys! I know I haven't updated for two weeks now and I apologize. I was just too busy and on top I'm not feeling very good. Anyways, thank you so much for all the reviews! It's so nice to see, that people like the story. However, here we go with the fourth chapter:_

...

„Great. Simply great…I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!! "

Sheen and Carl nervously glanced at each other. They were wet, tired, shocked, confused…but most of all frightened because of Cindy's sudden outburst. Sheen stepped a few inches nearer to the girl, who looked fuming at the ocean waves, and carefully dared to speak:

"Err…hey, I guess, you're not quite happy, right now, uh?"

Carl winced fearfully behind them, awaiting the explosion. As expected, Cindy immediately turned around and screamed:

"No way! I can't think of anything better than to be stuck in the middle of the ocean!!"

Sheen raised unimpressed his left eyebrow and said:

"Either you are a girl with really weird preferences…or you're getting hysteric really fast."

Carl shuffled his feet and timidly added:

"My doctor said that girls easily get worked up over the littlest things…"

Cindy's head (bright red by now) jerked from Sheen to Carl…and back to Sheen.

"How...What…Are…Crap!" she stuttered, as her thoughts were trying to get in order.

Sheen raised pacifying his hands and slowly spoke:

"Breath Cindy, breath…we can't comprehend your words, if you're blabbering like a mindless idiot."

Carl gasped and buried his face in his hands. However, he could not resist glancing through his fingers, expecting Cindy to get mad and knock his friend out, right here.

But instead she just stared disbelieving at Sheen and asked quietly:

"You are a real nimrod, aren't you?"

On hearing that, Sheen tensed and hissed:

"Ya know, you're really insulting!"

Carl nodded in agree.

"I'm disappointed of you Cindy…anger and violence are never a solution."

He smiled as though being a saint.

Completely overwhelmed by this level of denseness, Cindy hysterically grabbed Sheen at the shoulders and shook him violently.

"ARE YOU NUTS?!"

Sheen's eyes rolled as she shook him to fast.

"Uh…I…am not…I am a genius, remember?"

Cindy shrieked and let him fall hard on the ground.

"Ouuch…is there any rule that forbids you, to be nice, just once?" he asked, while standing up and rubbing his leg.

The girl winced slightly, as he opened that way to fresh wound. Her gaze wandered to the blue waves that gently carried the Hover car and asked herself whether it really had been this peaceful element, that angrily had swallowed her best friend…and not so good friends.

She felt that lump in her throat again, but forced herself to get back to the current matters. Distractions were no option right now.

So she looked back at Sheen and Carl and spoke:

"Didn't it register to your…whatever you have instead of brains-"

"Hey Carl's the one with a walnut as brain, not me, I'm a genius!!"

"Not true!! You're almost as mean as Cindy, herself!"

"Hey!"

"Dude, that was uncalled for. How can you compare me to that bundle of wrath?!"

"First off, you just signed your last will with that comment…"

"Oh…Carl forced me to say it!!"

"Second…if you're calling yourself a genius ever again, I'm immediately gonna sweep your sorry butt over into the ocean…"

"That girl has some serious rage issues…"

"My doctor could help her…"

"Dude…even someone who deals with hopeless cases like you, isn't ready for that girl!"

"And third…HOW CAN YOU BE SO STUPID AFTER WHAT JUST HAS HAPPENED??"

Sheen and Carl looked off guard at Cindy, their faces mirroring utter confusion.

The Mexican blinked bewildered.

"Whaddya mean, by WHAT JUST HAPPENED??" he screamed the last words out, just as loud as she had screamed. Carl quickly covered his ears.

"Oh Sheen! My ears are hurting!"

"Baby!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"Am not!"

"Are too!"

"NO!"

"YES!!"

"NO-"

"STOP IT!!" Cindy yelled at the tops of her lungs. Her hands had clenched to fists…and though they did not know why, the sight, scared Sheen and Carl a bit.

"What do you mean, by what do you mean by what just happened?!" she asked Sheen, still hysteric.

The boy scratched his head.

"What do you mean by what do you mean by what do you mean by what just happened?"

"What….uh…WHAT?!"

"What what?"

"What what what?"

"Wha…"

"When, why, where, who!!"

Cindy and Sheen oddly stared at Carl. The boy took a step back and mumbled:

"Hey…you were so uncreative with your words…"

"ARGH!!" Cindy slammed desperate her fists on the armature of the Hover car. Her two friends hugged each other afraid.

"That's it…Carl…Cindy's gone mad…"

"I always thought it couldn't get worse…"

"I'd need Ultra Lord, right now…"

"I want my mommy….and dry pants…"

"EWWW!!" Sheen quickly jumped away from Carl and made a disgusted face.

"You're gross, dude!!"

Carl sniffed offended:

"It's not what you're thinking!! I meant they're wet because of the sea water!"

Sheen slowly nodded, however, still stayed away from his friend.

"Suuure…if you say so…."

"DID YOU NOT NOTICE THAT JIMMY, BETTY AND LIBBY JUST FELL INTO THE OCEAN, HEAVEN KNOWS HOW FAR AWAY FROM HERE??" Cindy finally exploded completely.

Sheen showed a blank expression of utter confusion.

"When….should this have happened, Cindy?" he calmly asked, as though she was mad.

Cindy simply shook her head. She was going to throw herself down the waves every second. Lost in the middle of the ocean, wet, still in partial shock and with an aching heart she was completely at a loss for words. The boy just had to be kidding her!

"I….uh…Don't you remember?!"

Sheen smiled at her…however the smile was giving her the creeps.

"But they did not fell out the Hover car….Jimmy, Betty and Libbylicious just went swimming in the nice warm ocean…safe and jolly." he chirped.

Cindy's jaw dropped.

"Jolly, jolly in the warm water, carried by the gentle waves…."

Carl shuffled his feet and mumbled:

"He's going mad…completely mad…."

"Jolly, jolly, jolly….oh so jolly…"

"Mad…he's mad…."

Cindy looked at the two boys and suddenly felt very apathetic. She just could not believe what was happening…they were hopelessly stranded, their friends probably….she gulped…._dead_.

And then this.

Perhaps she needed to be gentle on them. Yes…she would be as sensitive as she could, and _maybe_ they'd become sensible again. As much as she disdained herself for that, she broadly smiled at them, opened her mouth and:

"IF YOU DWEEBS DON'T IMMEDIATELY SHUT YOUR PIE HOLES, **I** AM GOING MAD!!" she yelled at the top of her lungs.

Sheen quietly commented:

"Someone woke up on the wrong side of bed, uh?"

That was the last straw. With a hysteric growl, Cindy threw herself on him and began to strangle him.

...

"Oh yeah of course!! Whatever could go wrong, uh?!"

Libby's eyes were piercing like daggers through him. Jimmy swallowed and stepped back.

"You've got to admit it's pretty unlikely that something like that happens…." He tried to pacify the girl.

Libby stubbornly put her hands on the hips and retorted:

"Lemme think….didn't the same happen just TWO WEEKS ago?!"

Jimmy carefully glanced over his shoulder. It was never wise to be that loud in the wilderness. Who knew, what dangers lurked in the green jungle of this island.

When he had awakened, the first thing he had seen was Libby's angry face…almost enough to make him collapse again. Joyfully, he had recognized Betty shyly standing at her side, however. It had been such a great relief that she was alive and quite okay…under these circumstances.

Unfortunately he had not have enough time to be glad that the girls were feeling quite well already…since Libby had immediately taken the chance to tell him off. Loud…and very furious.

And he was quite helpless facing her wrath.

Surprisingly, Betty cut off Libby's tirade and calmly said:

"Libby, there is no use in yelling at Jimmy. He didn't mean to harm us."

The dark-skinned girl rolled her eyes and replied:

"Yeah right, sister, I'm gonna sing a song about how happy I am, that Jimmy didn't mean to harm us!"

"I'm gonna get us outta here, don't worry!"

"Ya better do it soon…my hair is completely ruined, my clothes are a mess…"

Betty genuinely smiled at her and said:

"But at least you can get rid of the shoes now, anyways. They don't really fit your type."

Jimmy blankly stared at the girls. Was it normal for girls to focus on the least important things, when they got lost? He remembered the conversation he had with Cindy two weeks ago, when she stuttered something about her piano lessons.

He interrupted his own thoughts and angrily kicked into the soft sand. He really did not want to think of that girl, now. There were other things he had to focus on than this obnoxious, cruel…

The most important thing was to find a way to get away from here, soon. The island could be dangerous….and probably Betty would get afraid. Plus, they would get sick, if they did not get out of the wet clothes and found a warm fire place to revive their frozen bodies.

While having these thoughts and being the boy he was, he completely missed the explosiveness of Betty's words…nor did he see the dark clouds that seemed to cover Libby's face.

"Oh thank you for the advice Betty…" she replied with a sweet smile.

"I guess, when searching for _five_ hours for the _perfect_ outfit, one's eyes get very tired. And I'm glad that nothing of your clothes is ruined…except for the white belt, that doesn't fit you at all, anyways."

Jimmy could not believe it. They all could have been dead! And the girls were talking about their clothes! His rational mind could not comprehend what they were thinking.

Betty nearly invisibly frowned and answered just as sugary:

"Thank you for _caring_, dear."

Again Jimmy missed the dangerous undertone in her voice.

"Sorry to interrupt you girls, but we've gotta figure out a way to get outta this mess!" he cut them off and ran his fingers through his hair.

From the distance he could hear an animal howl…he would rather not find out, which creature belonged to that sound.

Libby glared annoyed at him.

"Like ya did the last time, when we _accidentally_ found you?"

Jimmy winced slightly at the flood of memories that washed over him, when he felt a smooth hand on his shoulder.

Betty flashed a brilliant smile at Libby and confidentially spoke:

"_**I**_ think Jimmy will find a way, at all costs." The boy genius dreamily smiled at her. She was always so nice and kind…and it felt so good, to have someone believing in his skills, instead of the usual verbal abuse he had to go through all the time.

With a scoff, Libby narrowed her eyes and replied:

"Well if _you, _think so….fine. But I know Jimmy better than you do."

It did not occur one second to Jimmy that she probably was saying these words, only to get back on Betty. Instead, he scowled at her, and before he could hold his mouth he snapped:

"You know, Libby, you're almost getting as bitter as Cindy!"

He bit his lip instantly, when he noticed, what he had said. Certainly, he did not want to get remembered of her…and now he was taking care of that, himself!

Libby slowly clenched her fists, her gaze growing darker every second.

"Don't you _dare_, say her name!" she hissed at him, as she thought back to the scene that had taken place at the Hover car. Although she obviously had other things to care about, she was still Cindy's best friend…and despite that Cindy had screamed the same, she was pretty sure, that Jimmy had hurt her best friend….which made her only angrier at him.

Betty raised pacifying her hands and cut through the building tension with her sweetest voice:

"Libby…is it usual for you, to get this hysteric?"

Libby gently smiled and retorted:

"Actually this depends on my companion, Betty."

The pretty girl nodded, as though understanding.

"I see…" she bit her lip.

Libby rolled her eyes and turned back to Jimmy.

"So, genius boy…any ideas?"

Jimmy gazed down at the watch around his wrist and absently nodded.

"Yeah….perhaps…but just perhaps, I am able to contact Sheen and Carl...with my watch."

Libby looked irritated at him.

"Jimmy…I don't wanna ruin your plan, but that thing is completely wet."

"Uh….it's waterproof?!" Jimmy said, as though this was the most obvious thing in the world.

"But we've been in the water for quite a while…"

"Libby, don't doubt Jimmy's abilities…he's a genius after all!" Betty kindly said and smiled at Jimmy.

The boy nodded half dazed and a silly grin spread on his face.

Libby's dark expression did not vanish. This boy was so easily influenced, he did not deserve that a girl like Cindy was so hurt by his words.

"It's really touching, how much you _care_ about him, Betty…" she added nicely, but with a tone of sarcasm in her voice.

Jimmy faintly blushed at Libby's words. Did she really think that Betty cared for him?

'Back to the topic, Neutron' he kept himself from daydreams sequences that were about to start clouding his mind.

"Of course I have to adjust some things….the watch is indeed a bit damaged…but nothing serious…I can fix that."

"Sure you can Jimmy!" Betty assured him.

Libby almost gagged. She just wanted to get home and away from that sugary girl. If she just had not been so keen on missing the newest Ultra Lord movie….

She slightly frowned at this thought. Who knew how her friends were doing? Perhaps they did not get the Hover car under control….perhaps they suffered an even worse fate as theirs by now.

Her heart lightly ached….what if they got by any miracle away from that island….but she never ever would hear Sheen's hourly reports about Ultra Lord again? And what would she do, without her best friend in the whole world?

She glanced over at Jimmy and Betty, sure enough that Jimmy had this dazed expression again. Suddenly she felt lonely, without Cindy and Sheen…and even Carl. The five of them had been through so much...and although she was almost always ticked off by their adventures, she was even more ticked off, that things changed this way…

…and that she was hopelessly stuck with Neutron and the sugary girl on a deserted island.

Looking down at her ruined outfit, she scowled.

That definitely was the worst that had happened to her, so far.

Meanwhile, Jimmy snapped once more out of his trance and spoke:

"It will take a few hours to fix that…we should search for a safe place to rest."

Betty fearfully clanged to his arm.

"Is it…is it dangerous here?"

"Maybe…we should go searching now…carefully…." Jimmy replied and observed their surroundings.

They started to walk away from the beach, slowly taking each step.

Suddenly Libby burst out:

"And by finding a safe place, you meant, running in the heart of this jungle?" She pointed at the plants ad trees that were only twenty meters away and defensively crossed her arms.

"We need water, Libby! Or would you rather try your luck with the salty water of the sea?"

Libby rolled her eyes and continued walking. Jimmy simply shrugged and did the same. However, she interrupted their walk again, after a few seconds:

"I'm not gonna share my sleeping spot with _her_." She looked at Betty, who frowned in return and spoke:

"No problem, Libby" her voice kind as always, but her gaze was a bit darker.

Jimmy looked confused at them.

Did he miss something?

_..._

_A/N: Did you like it? If it is a bit crappy, I'm sorry, but I'm sick and feeling miserable…however I just wanted to continue! By the way, I am not intending at all, to make Betty look like a mean bimbo, or something like that. She is (quite) nice girl in the show and the arguments that will arise don't mean that she's the villain or stuff (because some people automatically think so, when she starts to talk not so nicely). But you know, how girls can get, uh? However I would appreciate as always, if you told me, whether it was good or bad .So…review please!!_

_Love, firepearl!_


	18. Alone with girls: Chapter 5

Alone with girls 5

**Disclaimer: I do not….not…uh? I guess I fell asleep from telling you over and over again that I do not own Jimmy Neutron or anything related. But sadly that's the truth.**

_A/N: Well…here we go with the next chapter, guys! Thanks for the reviews, they really do help!_

...

Carl looked wide eyed at his two friends, who were engaged in a full out fight, by now. Although 'fight' was perhaps the wrong word, as it hinted a mutual action…actually the scene in front him only starred Cindy strangling Sheen, while the latter whined and howled, trying to break free from her death grip. Their red-haired friend, completely overstrained by the situation, covered his eyes in fear and screamed:

"Cindy stop it! Let Sheen live, I beg you!!"

Through her angry growl, he could perceive a baffled whine from Sheen:

"Yeah listen to him!! Owwww….let me…ow….LIVE!!"

But the girl just continued to attack Sheen, completely mad by now. The Hover car lifted and lowered wildly, stronger waves slowly forming. Water splashed over the vehicle's edge and soaked them, but Cindy did not stop. The only hint that she acknowledged the sudden water contact was a furious outcry:

"Great! Now my clothes are even wetter! Do you know, how expensive these were?!"

Sheen, trying to escape the blonde's wrath, who just increased the strength of her grip, slightly crawled away and gasped:

"Well…that is…your fault…!"

Her eyes seemed to burn as she screeched:

"WHAT?! You little…!"

"Hey!" Sheen interrupted her and took a deep breath. "You …are the one…attacking me…!"

That hit a sensible nerve of the girl. She sat abrupt up and blinked confused, the messy remains of her ponytail framing her face. At their side, Carl wiped relieved his forehead and sighed. He was glad that the drama was over...if they had continued just one minute longer, he swore that he would have started to cry. Still with a racing heartbeat, he looked over at his friends.

Cindy, completely still sitting on her spot, frowned and innocently said to Sheen:

"You know…you're …right." Her eyes showed utter bewilderment, as she never imagined to ever saying this one to him.

The boy quickly nodded, showing his best pearly white smile, he could manage. Holding the huge, scary grin he said pacifying:

"Yes...and now that you agree with me, my _dearest_ friend…could…you please…get off me??" he shifted under her weight, desperately trying to break free.

Cindy blankly stared at him and replied with an even voice:

"No."

Carl's jaw dropped, as he put one hand on his heart, in order to prevent himself from fainting.

Meanwhile Sheen friendly nodded and chirped in a chit-chat voice:

"Thank you so much and--"suddenly realizing her response, his eyes grew to the size of plates. "WHAT?!"

Cindy smiled at him, her eyes however dangerously narrowing.

"NO! It was your…" she angrily poked him in the chest "STUPID fault, that we are in this mess! YOU are gonna pay for it!!"

She was just going to strangle him again, when Sheen quickly jumped up. With a small yelp, Cindy fell on the ground and looked wide eyed up at him.

"Well, if YOU would not have been such a nasty and backstabbing witch to Jimmy, he could have rescued us in the first place! This is YOUR entire fault!!" he gave vent to his anger.

The whole world around them seemed to fall silent. Cindy could not even perceive the soft squishing of the waves anymore…all that rang in her ears were Sheen's words.

Carl glanced nervously from Sheen to Cindy, unsure of what really had happened right now. He might never have been the brightest cookie in the jar, but he sensed that something was terribly wrong. Admittedly…he did not know Cindy as well, as one would have thought he would ,after all their adventures together…in his eyes she had always been just a bad-tempered, offensive and bossy girl, who showed sometimes the slight potential to be a fairly good friend. But most of all she had been always strong…it did not matter how many memories he let pass by; she had always been strong and determined.

But now, there was that expression on her face…as though she was hurt. Carl quickly searched in his pockets for his inhaler, his fingers shivering in fear it might have fallen out of his pocket during the storm. After a few frightful seconds he found his favorite object and deeply inhaled a few times.

The thought of Cindy being weak once, badly scared him. After all, who would take the responsibility if she was scared? Him and Sheen always needed someone to take the control over…being on his own, was the worst thing, Carl could ever imagine.

With a shadowed face, the blonde girl stood up and calmly walked past oblivious Sheen and a worried Carl. Not saying anything, she sat down on the pilot's chair and began to observe the armature.

Carl threw an uncertain look to Sheen, tensed his shoulders and walked the few steps up to her side.

"Uhm…hey Cindy…"he began stuttering, half expecting her to turn around and attack him as well. But she just kept with a straight face staring at the armature.

"Leave me alone." Her even voice reached his ears.

The boy nervously fiddled about his collar and made a second, even weaker attempt:

"But Cindy…."

She quickly turned around and darkly glared at him.

"I said: Leave me alone." Her gaze lasted a few more seconds, and then she turned around to face the armatures again.

Carl helplessly nodded and stepped back to his and Sheen's seats, not daring to address her a third time.

Sheen however, simply shrugged and asked clueless:

"Dude…what's her problem?" he paddled with his hand in the water, half leaning over the Hover car's edge.

As the water squished against Sheen's fingers, he smiled at the watery touch. Carl just shook his head at his friend and replied:

"I'm not sure, Sheen…" he tried to hint at his best friend what the problem was.

The Mexican boy frowned as he gazed at the distance. With a crumpled nose, he mumbled:

"I'm just glad my chick is a lovely angel…that girl over there is…." He left the sentence unfinished.

Carl lowered his head to the left side and asked:

"Sheen…aren't you worried about Libby? And Jim?"

The boy he had spoken to raised his head in bewilderment and asked confused:

"Why should I? We're gonna rescue them. After all, did you ever see Cindy mess a challenge up? She'll save them and we'll applaud…just like we always do with Jimmy."

Carl slowly nodded and mumbled:

"You are probably right."

...

Libby wiped the sweat from her forehead. They had been wandering around for quite a while, but still had not found any water spring. The moist heat of the jungle was slowly getting to her. Actually the warmth felt nice, since she had been drifting nearly frozen in the ocean only a short while ago, but now she felt already uncomfortable. She cursed as she tripped over another stupid plant and almost fell to the ground. It was time to get home…she had enough of mother nature for a long while.

From behind her, she heard Betty tiredly lamenting:

"Can't we take a rest here? I'm feeling so exhausted…and we haven't found anything yet…" her voice drifted away.

Libby groaned inaudible and rolled her eyes. She did not even know, why the girl's question exasperated her as much…perhaps it was just the sweet way she asked, although they were all hopelessly tired and haggard. As Jimmy turned around and bit concerned his lip, Libby felt the urge to grab his collar and heavily shake sense into him. A huge bug crawled dangerously close to her shoe and as je jumped disgusted away, she felt her feeling just affirmed. Every single break just made them stay longer here…and kept her from getting home as soon as possible. Simultaneously she chided herself for her thoughts and growing dislike towards Betty…after all one could not force Jimmy to focus his attention on the girl that really deserved it.

Encouraged by her 'reasonable' thoughts she smiled faintly. It was not any of her business, if her friend drooled over that preppy and hopelessly over cheerful girl and did not care about her best friend. It was none of her business, if he hurt Cindy, if he neglected any reasonable thought when talking to Betty and it certainly was none of her business that he was as oblivious as not to see that Cindy cared so much about him. None. Of. Her. Business.

God, did she want to wring his neck right now.

She rubbed the back of her neck and glared at the huge bug that joyfully crawled over her foot.

Jimmy was not sure what to do. He could see the exhaustion written all over Betty's face...and Libby did not look very energetic as well. Inside he felt tiredness clouding his senses, but if not his books and mind taught him that they had to find water as soon as possible, his last 'trip' to an uncharted island definitely had. Yet, it was hard to defeat his own exhaustion and even harder to resist the pleading expression on Betty's pretty face.

He remembered two weeks ago, when …this _girl _had formulated nearly the same plea. It had been quite simple back then…he just told her to carry on, without any second thought.

'But of course…' he told himself. 'It is quite simple to reject a plea coming from that person.'

Nonetheless his reasonable side won, as he spoke apologizing to Betty:

"I'm sorry, but we have to go on. Otherwise, we could get in some serious trouble…"

Betty closed disappointed her eyes, but opened her mouth to agree, when Libby cut in:

"As if we weren't already…" she rolled her eyes at him. "Just carry on walking, girl and quit whining."

For a second she had caught both, Jimmy and Betty off guard with her words. The dark-skinned girl just walked past them and muttered annoyed under her breath, ignoring the blank reaction of her two companions. Jimmy stared amazed after her. Since when was Libby so harsh? As far as he knew, it was rather her task to back up her 'best friend' in all her vicious schemes, but being calm and collected all the same, dripping a sarcastic comment here and then. Her open rudeness bewildered him. Was this really the dance party, music loving girl, he had that always tagged along?

After a few moments, however he heard Betty speaking:

"You are such a grumpy girl, Libby!" she stomped with her foot and angrily blew a strand of her dark hair out of her face.

On hearing these words, Jimmy got a bad feeling…the feeling as if something bad was going to happen any second…simultaneously Betty's reaction amazed him, just as much as Libby's had. So he just kept standing still on his spot and watched the two girls.

As Libby turned on her heel around, her gaze was burning. She slightly clenched her fists and asked:

"Did you just call me grumpy?" her voice grew dangerous.

Betty rolled her eyes and replied:

"Well…obviously!"

Libby crossed her arms and snapped:

"Well...perhaps you would be grumpy too, if ya just would wake up out of your pink, sparkling dream world, sister!"

Betty gasped and put her hands on her hips. The dangerous sparkle in her eyes, matched perfectly the one in Libby's.

"My dream world? Excuse me, but just because I'm positive thinking…"

"Oh please!" Libby interrupted her. "You're not positive, girl, you're hopelessly dreamy! We are stranded on a damn, unknown island, for music's sake! Sorry, but some people get slightly worried when something like that happens to them!"

Betty scoffed.

"Does it help to complain about everything? If we want to get out of here, we have to trust each other and get along."

Jimmy stared lost at them. He had no idea, why exactly the girls were verbally attacking each other…and he definitely did not know how to stop them. After all he did not want to upset Betty…

…and Libby of course.

"Could ya do me a favor, Betty?" Libby asked unnerved. "If you would stop putting this whole innocent princess façade on…" she mockingly batted her eyelashes. "...one of my problems would be no more."

Betty's jaw dropped in outrage as she heard Libby's words

"Are you saying, I'm fake?!" she asked insulted and leaned her upper body forwards, hands still on her hips.

"Hmmm…lemme think…what a tough choice!" Libby snapped back and tightened her folded arms.

Jimmy decided to step in. Not only was the fight completely without reason, but also did they waste their valuable time.

"Libby, Betty…" he started, feeling immediately two angry glares. "Could you please sort this out? We have to get away from here!"

The girls both raised their heads to the sky and simultaneously replied:

"Not before _she_ apologized!"

Jimmy sighed exhausted. Nonetheless he stepped to Libby and said politely:

"Libby, would you please apologize to Betty?"

Little did he know which crime he just had begun. Libby gasped off guard and hissed at him:

"WHAT?! I have to apologize?! That's really the last straw! But of course you're on her side, I should have known!"

Jimmy carefully backed away and raised pacifying his hands.

"Uh…Libby…"

Betty grimaced at Libby.

"Yes, because I am right!" she folded her arms now, as well.

Jimmy nervously chuckled and tried to calm the two girls down:

"I'm not on anyone's side, I'm just saying that…"

"So you're saying, I'm not right?!" Betty angrily asked.

"No…I…" the poor boy stuttered. "I just….uhm…" he stopped himself and asked innocently smiling at the two girls:

"Hey…why don't we just search the water spring?"

The only response he received were two simultaneous scoffs.

...

The sundown had already passed by and dark night had come. The sea that carried the vehicle, glittered mystical as the pale moonlight shone upon it. It was the only bright sight around them. Sheen's right arm hang loosely over the Hover car's edge as he dully asked his friends:

"Guys…are we there, yet?"

Cindy yawned and stretched herself in her seat. Disdainfully glancing at the hyper boy, she forced herself to ask:

"Where?"

Sheen rolled over his left side, as to get fully into the Hover car. Sleepily he answered:

"Where we have to go…."

The girl sighed.

"Sheen…as you are a hyper idiot, I'm sure you haven't noticed, despite our several outcries…so…we have no idea where we have to go!!"

Carl opened his half closed eyes and agreed with her.

"Yeah, Sheen…we're lost…doomed….hopeless…." his voice grew more afraid with every word. He clang to his seat and cried:

"I WANT MY MOMMY!!" a bit quieter he added: "I can't sleep…."

Sheen glared at him and said determined:

"I'm not gonna sing this silly slumber song for you!"

Carl stuck his tongue out and snapped back:

"You're no good friend!"

Sheen jumped up, screaming:

"So?! Besides, only a real friend could listen to what you call singing!"

"Says you! Who can't sing to save his life!" Carl arose from his seat as well.

Cindy watched them, too tired as to interfere. As long as the two nimrods left her alone, they could suffocate each other, for all she cared. Ignoring the arising 'fight' between the two idiots, she leaned back on her seat and tried to get at least some sleep, despite all the thoughts whirling in her head.

But just as she closed her eyes, as beeping sound rang in her ears.

Carl quickly jumped behind Sheen.

"What was that?" he asked, carefully glancing over his friend's shoulder. Sheen shrugged.

"I guess it was nothing….but just in case…" he quickly pushed Carl in front of him.

"If any of us has to pass away, I'm voting for you, dude." He crouched behind the red-haired boy.

Cindy groaned frustrated and snapped at them:

"Don't be such wimps, guys! I'm sure it's just…" her voice drifted off, as they noticed a red light blinking on the armature.

Cindy read quickly the screens. Her eyes widened in shock.

"GUYS!!" she loudly squealed and startled her two friends like never before.

Sheen, a bit less freaked out by her outburst than Carl, dared to carefully ask:

"Uh…is something up, Cindy?"

The girl jumped up from her seat and violently shook him.

"Up, whether something's up?" she spilled faster than he could react. "I tell you, what's up! We've got an incoming call!!"

The heads of the two boys jerked up.

"WHAT?!" they happily yelled. Carl however, scratched his chin and asked:

"Do you think it's from Jimmy?"

Cindy slapped her forehead and groaned.

"No…it's the pizza delivering service. They apologize, that the pizza will be cold when they reach us!"

Carl frowned confused.

"When did we order a pizza?"

Sheen shook his head and screeched:

"Carl…this is called irony…or inory…irory…eh something like that!! Let's listen to the call!!"

The three stormed back to the armature. After a few button pushes, they finally had a soft rustling…and a very familiar voice speaking:

"Guys…guys can you read me? Hello, is anyone there?"

The three looked excited at each other.

"JIMMY!!" Sheen and Carl happily squealed. A feeling of utter contentment and relief washed over Cindy. He was alive. Jimmy was alive and he succeeded to contact them! She was about to open her mouth, due to her excitement, when reason came over her again…and memories of their last conversation. So she just shut her mouth and listened, inwardly feeling sick.

"Sheen…Carl? Is that you?" Jimmy's uncertain voice sounded.

"Duh! Of course it's us! You're alive!!" Sheen yelled into the loudspeaker that was installed on the surface of the Hover car.

The response came quite hard to understand due to the rustling background:

"Yes…we are…we all are…"

Carl hugged Sheen and cried:

"They're alive! They're alive!" Sheen hugged back and yelled:

"Well, where are you guys? We gotta rescue you!"

"Some…island….don't…know….where…"

Cindy's eyes shot wide open at the word 'island'. Vicious memories worked their way up in her mind…memories she pushed determined aside.

"It's…okay…here….no danger….water…food…could live here….for a while…beautiful…environment…"

Sheen screeched as reply:

"That's awesome dude! But I wanna have my Libbylicious back!"

The rustling increased, making it nearly impossible to listen to Jimmy's voice.

"Not…sure…'bout…that….to….find…you….just…"

Carl leaned forwards, crying:

"What? We can't hear you well anymore!"

Cindy leaned forwards as well, a concerned expression on her face.

"Crap…the…watch…too...damaged…can't…"

The call ended abruptly. The three friends looked shocked at each other. Sheen clang desperate to the armature and cried:

"No…now we're not gonna find out where they are!!" he stared stunned at the buttons and screens beneath him.

Carl turned around to Cindy and hysterically screamed at her:

"You've gotta do something!!"

The girl helplessly looked at him and cried back:

"What should I do?! His messaging gadget is obviously broken!"

"Can't you…just find out from where he called?!" Sheen asked her, slightly panicking.

"But…" Cindy threw her arms in the air." How am I supposed to do that? I'm no hobby message tracker, you know!"

Sheen grabbed her shoulders and shook her.

"There's gotta be something you can do! If Jimmy was here, he could!" his voice was utterly distraught.

Cindy threw him away from her, causing the boy to fall to the ground. She towered over him, arms stretched and desperately screamed:

"I am not Jimmy! I don't know what to do!"

On seeing her expression, the boys slowly calmed down. Carl scratched nervously his arm and quietly said:

"Well…at least we do know that they're getting well along….and that they're quite safe."

Sheen nodded and added:

"That's something…" he fall down on his seat. "Guys…I don't know how you see it, but I'm tired…we should sleep…"

Carl looked irritated at him:

"How can you possibly be tired now--"he caught Sheen's warning glance and let himself fall down as well.

"Uh…I mean….good night, guys…sleep well…" with that said, he quickly snuggled against his seat and closed his eyes.

A few minutes later, it was silent again on board. Only the quiet snores from Sheen and Carl were audible, as they had really fallen asleep. After all they had been tired even before the exciting event.

Cindy sighed and wiped her eyes. Carl, as oddly as it sounded, was right. At least they did know now, that their friends were alive and safe. As she thought about it, she pondered that they probably had it much better than them here, right now…

She swallowed hard and held the tears back that were about to pour down her face…her failure to do something useful made her feel really awful.

But there was something else, which hurt even more…much more. Her heart ached, as she remembered the words, he had just spoken…and came to one conclusion:

Jimmy was finally with Betty on a paradisiacal and romantic island, almost alone.

The waves quietly swooshed as she buried her face in her hands and made one single sob, unnoticed by anyone.

Her nightmare had come true.

_..._

_A/N: And here I leave you once more…hoping that this chapter was no failure. Please review, so I know how you liked it…whether it was okay or bad. Thanks for reading, anyways! Till the next update:)_

_Love, firepearl!_


	19. Alone with girls: Chapter 6

Alone with girls Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Jimmy neutron or anything related. insert witty/funny comment**

_A/N: Hello!! I realize I am a very bad person...sorry this update took so long again. Anyways I was very happy with all the reviews I got...thank you so much again! And on with the story:_

...

Jimmy pressed the watch eagerly against his face.

"Guys…hello guys?!" he yelled quietly, trying not to wake the two girls, excuse him, drama queens sleeping a few meters away. Unsatisfied he noticed that he was not getting a signal.

Frowning he adjusted his watch again, worriedly noticing the bad condition of the small object. He did not like to admit it, but Libby had been right…even his self pimped watch was not able to work properly after being so long into the water. Nonetheless, he told himself, he had to try again.

From the distance he could hear the soft swooshing waves. The resting spot they had found was beautiful…almost (just almost) compensating the exhausting walk they had to bear with before they found that place. With a shudder he remembered the past few hours.

_..._

_Flashback_

_They had been wandering for only two minutes after Libby's and Betty's argument, when they heard another animal sound…only nearer this time. Afraid, Betty clang to Jimmy's arm to which he smiled dreamily in return. _

"_What was that?" the pretty girl asked worried. _

_Just then another scoff came from Libby's direction._

"_What do you think, Betty? Being in the nature and all?"_

_Betty rolled molested her eyes and snapped:_

"_Could you stop that now?!"_

_Libby just raised the volume of her voice, not bothering to pay attention to Betty's demand._

"_Oh…sorry I forgot we were taking the princess through the jungle. Apologize that I assumed you would recognize the sound of some animal."_

_Jimmy, groaning at his misfortune, asked her:_

"_I thought we have been over this! Libby…can't you just leave Betty alone? We have other problems, darn it!"_

_The dark-skinned girl glared outraged at him._

"_Why do ya always have to shut me up Jimmy? I'm just tellin the truth!"_

"_All you do is being rude towards me!" Betty argued back, still not releasing Jimmy's arm._

_Libby rolled her eyes._

"_Oh…excuse me sooo much, little Princess…where just are my manners? Aren't ya cute holding to Jimmy like that?"_

_Her words made Jimmy realize his position. Blushing, he thanked silently whatever animal it had been, for scaring Betty. The dark-haired girl, however had a battle to win and did not even bother to look at him._

"_What is your point, Libby? Are you jealous because Miss Grumpy is all alone, huh?"_

_Libby crossed angrily her arms._

"_With you two as companions, I'd be glad to be alone, believe me!"_

_Betty leaned her upper body forward and asked mockingly:_

"_Well why even bother coming with us, then?"_

_Jimmy snapped out of his trance as he saw something…bad…approaching Libby from behind. _

"_Libby!" he screamed warningly and pointed behind her. The girls however were too entranced in their argument, as to notice._

"_Perhaps, because Jimmy is the only one to get us away from here…that is of course when you're not hanging half over him and making him all gaga, Missy!"_

_Betty gasped at the outrageous comment, eager to shoot back._

_Jimmy however, looking in horror at the giant snake coming slowly nearer Libby, jumped out of Betty's grip, grabbed a stick and run to Libby, as to chase the snake away. _

_Libby smirked at Betty:_

"_Seems he's come to his senses and is on my side now!"_

_The other girl snorted:_

"_Yeah right, that's why he has the stick!"_

"_Ohhh…is the princess being sarcastic? Now I've seen everything."_

_The boy genius stared disbelieving at the huge yap that had just bitten his stick into two pieces. _

"_You're one nasty snake!" he chided the animal with a shaking voice. Ever since his last time stuck on an island, his sympathy with snakes had majorly lessened. Stepping a few inches back he mumbled:_

"_Good snake…good snake…no need to bite or suffocate me…" Unfortunately there was absolute no Ginseng in sight._

"_I don't know why I should even bother to listen to you!" Betty yelled at this moment at Libby._

"_Perhaps because it's the first time you hear something intellectual in your life!" her rival retorted._

_Betty scoffed startled and spoke with a meaningful hand gesture:_

"_Oh no…you have so not said that!"_

_Libby smirked at her and mimicked her gesture:_

"_Oh yes I so have said that!"_

_Jimmy, by now was mildly squeezed by the snake, that had started to wrap around his right arm. His eyes nearly bulged out, as the snake increased the pressure._

"_Not…good…" he told himself, staring panicking at the animal._

_But the only two persons able to help him had to attack each other verbally. Jimmy, trying to ignore the bone-smashing feeling in his arm, wondered seriously about the girls' good timing. _

"_Your shoes are so last year!" Libby insulted her counterpart._

"_I wouldn't talk with this…does it even count as hair do?" Betty was quick to answer._

"_Girls…" Jimmy gasped exhaustedly, not succeeding anymore to ignore the stinging pain in his arm. His two companions held up their right hands and simultaneously spoke:_

"_Not now, Jimmy."_

_Jimmy laughed bitterly and replied:_

"_Oh yeah…actually I enjoy being squeezed to death by a giant snake in the middle of nowhere._

_The ever so friendly Betty smiled quickly at him and said distracted:_

"_Oh that's nice Jimmy."_

_Jimmy slapped his forehead with his free hand and mumbled quietly:_

"_Great, I couldn't be better."_

_Libby looked darkly at Betty and mimicked her mockingly:_

"'_That's nice Jimmy' Oh I'm the perfect Betty Quinlan and I'm glad for everyone's luck! Bleh!" she glared at the other girl._

_The snake had now begun to wrap around his upper body. On catching Libby's words, Jimmy screeched disbelievingly:_

"_Luck?!"_

_Betty narrowed her eyes:_

"_I'm not perfect—"_

_Libby rolled agreeing her eyes._

"_Roger on that, Betty. You're making progress."_

"_I never said I'd be perfect!" Betty stomped furiously with her foot._

_Getting his breath pressed out of his lungs, Jimmy gasped:_

"_I do, Betty!"_

_The girl, however, to enraged just cut him abruptly off:_

"_Not now Jimmy!"_

_He shook his head once more in amazement._

"_I…compliment…her while…turning into…snake food…and she…has no time!" _

_Libby crossed her arms and cocked one eyebrow._

"_You never said you're perfect? Well...perhaps you could stop acting as if you were, then!"_

"_Giiiiirlllls…" Jimmy groaned, the snake wrapping tighter every passing second around him._

"_I do not act like this!" Betty objected." I never do! You almost sound like that blonde Cindy girl!"_

_On hearing this name, Jimmy could not help but yell out:_

"_EVEN CINDY DID NOT GET SUFFOCATED TILL DEATH BY A MONSTER SNAKE! I DO NOT INTEND TO BE THE ONE TRYING IT OUT!!"_

_The girls stopped their tirade and blinked confused at each other. Just then the realized the position, Jimmy was in. Screaming, they hugged each other in fear, staring afraid at the giant animal._

"_A…s-snake…" Libby squealed shaking._

"_A giant snake…" Betty agreed, equally shivering._

_Despite his worrisome situation, Jimmy could not help but rolling his eyes and comment:_

"_Uh…you both get an A+ in biology from me…but DO SOMETHING!!"_

"_But what?" Betty asked helplessly._

"_I don't know!" Jimmy cried back, as his rips just got squeezed a bit more._

_The two girls looked searching for a solution around, biting their nails._

_On the verge of fainting, Jimmy saw his rescue._

"_There…the Ginseng!" he attempted to point at a certain plant. Betty and Libby turned their heads, spotting the object he wished._

"_Oooh…pretty." Betty could not resist to comment, what gained her a contemptuous scowl by Libby. The girls quickly plucked the Ginseng and ran back to the poor boy._

"_And now?" Libby asked clueless._

_Unfortunately, Jimmy was not able to answer anymore, as he had already fainted._

"_Uhhh…perhaps you have to distract the snake with the plant!" Betty tried to offer help, a bit slow thinking due to her fear._

_Libby rolled her eyes, yet an uncertain expression on her face._

"_Yeah right…cause snakes value the beauty of nature so much…"_

_Betty pouted sullenly._

"_At least you could try, if you haven't any better idea!"_

_Libby had to admit that she indeed could not offer a better solution and hesitantly waved in front of the snake's head with the Ginseng:_

"_Here…you snake thingy…look….how…pretty…." she stopped and scowled at Betty._

"_That sounds ridiculous even when I say it myself." She complained._

"_You've got a better idea?" The other girl asked insulted._

_Libby stared confused at the plant in her hand._

"_Well…perhaps that thing has to eat the green thingy?" she suggested. On seeing that Betty nodded in agree, she quickly pressed the Ginseng in Betty's hand, pushed her forwards and said:_

"_I think you should do it, Betty!" she sent her an innocent smile._

_Betty shrieked and almost let the plant fall down._

"_Me? No way! Why don't you do it, Libby?" she tried to give Libby the plant back._

_The dark-skinned girl shook determined her head and apologized:_

"_Hey…I already tried to distract that snake…it's your turn!"_

_Betty faked a smile and replied:_

"_Yes…but I think you have the right touch with animals, Libby…more than me."_

_Libby backed away._

"_Oh my, that's flattering, but I think this is more of a task, you should fulfill, girl."_

_The brown-haired girl shook her head._

"_No no…believe me, you should do it." She attempted again to put the plant into Libby's hand._

_Libby pressed it back into her hand, both eventually grabbing the plant, trying to give it to each other._

"_You take it!"_

"_No you!"_

"_In your dreams!"_

"_My dreams are better than your reality!"_

"_Ouch, touché…urgh…you take it!"_

_Just when they were about to attack each other physically, the head of the snake jerked towards them, and snatched the Ginseng away._

_Amazed, Libby and Betty watched it slowly chewing the plant and sinking weakly to the ground. Jimmy fell unconscious to the ground, his blue face slowly getting its color back._

"_Jimmy!" the two girls cried simultaneously and crouched beneath him. A few minutes later, Jimmy opened his eyes, his breath almost steady again._

"_You know…" he gasped. "It was so much funnier the other way round."_

_The girls exchanged confused glances. _

"_What?" Libby asked questioningly._

_Jimmy slowly sat up and elaborated:_

"_Well when I was the one looking at a person getting suffocated by a giant snake."_

_Libby offered him her hand as he stood up and asked:_

"_You did?"_

_Jimmy just shook tiredly his head and replied as he began to walk away:_

"_This is all just one big déjà vu… a big déjà vu…with much more pain…"_

_The girls simply shrugged as they followed him._

_._

_Several hours and several dangerous occasions (at least for Jimmy) later, they finally heard the rushing of a waterfall. _

_Jimmy, who had bruises and other wounds all over his body, as well as a bleeding cut just above his right eyebrow, sighed relieved. Behind him stepped the two girls, as fresh as at the beginning of their walk, into view._

"_Yes!" the boy cried happily. "Finally an end to the injuries…uh I mean finally we found water!" he corrected himself, mildly glaring at the two girls. _

"_C'mon Jimmy…don't be such a baby! Just because you fell four meters down from a tree…"_

_Jimmy scowled darkly at her._

"_Which I wouldn't have in the first place, if it hadn't been for your 'braids against locks' argument!" he tried to make her remember._

_The girls just nonchalantly waved his statement off._

"_It was a matter of high importance…I'm sure you understand that, don't you Jimmy?" Betty smiled friendly at him in her most sugary voice._

_Despite the pain all over his body, Jimmy smiled and replied:_

"_Hmm…yeah of course I do…"_

_Libby choked loudly and interrupted them:_

"_Okay…stop it before I'm gonna barf!"_

_Sighing because his chance to talk with Betty had been interrupted once more, Jimmy pointed at the waterfall and called:_

"_Well then…let's go...carefully."_

_He slapped his forehead with his left hand, as he saw the two girls naturally argue loud with each other while they approached the water spring._

"_Smooth…" he muttered. "Smooth…"_

_Fortunately the water spring turned out to be in a safe area, surrounded by several fruit delivering plants and trees. Satisfied, Jimmy splashed the refreshing water against his face, forgetting his inner tension ever since the girls started to fight, for a few precious moments._

_But of course he was obviously not supposed to spend a few carefree (and quiet!) minutes. As soon as he took his hands away from his face he heard them again:_

"_I'm gonna sleep here!"_

"_Tss…dream on! I saw this place first!"_

_Jimmy closed his eyes, asked himself whether he really wanted to do what he was about to do…turned around and asked in faked cheer:_

"_What is the problem?" in thoughts he added:'…this time…'_

_Betty and Libby turned their heads towards him and exclaimed, pointing at each other:_

"_She won't move!"_

_They paused, looked at each other and sent death glares at their counterpart, before Betty spoke up:_

"_I want to sleep here. "She pointed at a natural bed out of moss. "But she of course had to steal the place away from me!"_

_Libby interfered heatedly: _

"_This is not true! I saw the place first and was about to claim it, when she just rushed here and claimed it herself. I just took back what was mine anyways!" she stuck her tongue out at Betty…a very out of character reaction for her, even Jimmy noticed that._

_Discouraged he looked at the bruise he got from landing into a bed of pointy stones (courtesy of the ponytail vs. pigtails argument), the cut on his left leg (courtesy of the 'Is classic music even music?' argument...) and the major headache he experienced (courtesy to ALL pointless arguments this day)…and made a decision._

_With one last sigh, he pushed his head into the water, leaving the two girls with their 'issue' alone._

_End Flashback_

...

Jimmy shuddered once more. He did not know how they solved the problem… a fact was however, that NONE of them slept on their original dream spot now.

He called again into the watch's tiny loudspeaker, inwardly fearing to awake the girls and just deliver them stuff for another argument.

"He didn't mean to wake us…yes he did! You would know that if you had any brains!" he mockingly mimicked them and rolled his eyes.

He just hoped his friends and that…person were still on board of the Hovercar…if they did not…well not everyone had as much luck as Jimmy, Libby and Betty have had. He stared at the beautiful environment and frowned…it was actually unbelievable that they had found that island…

He snapped out of his thoughts, as he heard a heavy rustling and a person asking:

"…order a pizza?"

'…order a pizza?' Jimmy mouthed in repeat and stared at his watch. Did he contact his Hovercar?

Another rustling followed, when a person cried:

"…listen to the call!!"

Uncertain, Jimmy began to speak:

"Guys…guys can you read me? Hello, is anyone there?"

He held the watch away from his ear, when a loud:

"JIMMY!!" rang into his ear. Relieved as never before, he recognized the voices of his friends. They were still alive and onboard of the Hovercar! And he succeeded to contact them!

But suddenly he frowned in all his delight…not that he cared or something…heaven NO...but there had not been a female one among the calling voices…was not Cindy supposed to be with them as well? Just…pure scientific curiosity. After all he could not care less, whether she got lost in the ocean or not.

A bit uncertain, though, he asked :

""Sheen…Carl? Is that you?"

He had not long to wait for a reply:

"Duh! Of course it's us! You're alive!!" he heard Sheen's loud voice yelling.

Smiling, Jimmy hugged his watch. It really was them! Then he clicked onto what Sheen had said and assured:

"Yes…we are…we all are…" He crumpled his nose and whispered, looking at his injuries:

"More or less...that is." But obviously his two friends did not catch on his last statement. Through the loud speaker he just heard them yelling:

"They're alive! They're alive!" Right after, Sheen's voice sounded again:

"Well, where are you guys? We gotta rescue you!"

Jimmy resisted another smile as he thought: 'Rescue sounds good…'

He threw another quick glance at the two sleeping drama queens, and then replied:

"Some deserted island….I seriously don't know where…we had luck."

The rustling sound increased, thus Jimmy was not sure whether they caught on all words he said. Nonetheless he continued:

"It's quite okay here...no danger around anymore besides the danger to get bruised because of some stupid argument…well we have water and food enough…I guess we could live here pretty well for a while, as long as it takes you to find us…but I have to admit it is some beautiful environment…" he smiled weakly and put a hand on his aching head.

Obviously his friends understood enough as for Sheen screech:

"That's awesome dude! But I wanna have my Libbylicious back!"

Jimmy grimaced at the thought of today's events and sneered:

"I would not be sure 'bout that, Sheen…anyways to find us you just…"

He paused for two reasons. The first more obvious one was that the rustling turned louder and louder, making it even for him harder to comprehend his own words. The second one…he still had not heard a single word from Cindy…which was pretty unusual. Thinking back to their last argument that was probably not even a bad thing…but as much as he despised to admit it, she was the only one who could hope to understand his technical instructions…if she was not onboard, everything he said would be in vain, since Sheen and Carl would be clearly overstrained.

Just then he noticed the watch was about to give up its functionality.

"What? …can't hear …anymore!" he perceived Carl's panicking voice.

Equally getting into panic, he screamed into the watch:

"Crap the stupid watch is way too damaged…I can't hold the contact!"

The call ended abruptly for him. Jimmy stared helplessly down at his watch.

'Damnit!' he thought angrily with himself.

That thing was obviously helplessly broken. He had been so close to get some rescue for them…so close! And then it just…he clenched frustrated his fists and threw the useless watch away.

"Leaping leptons!" he cursed. It was unbelievable that their chance had been cancelled in the matter of seconds.

Exhausted he lay down on his own sleeping spot and looked at the sky with the thousands of stars sparkling above. With a sick feeling in his stomach he asked himself, whether they were now destined to stay forever on this island…whether they would never see their home again.

But…he told himself; at least he would be able to spend some time alone with Betty. Closing his eyes he smiled.

After all the fighting had to stop once, had it not?

...

Some hours had passed since the baleful call, yet Cindy was still not able to fall asleep. She hung with her upper body loosely over the edge of the Hovercar, touching the wet surface of the sea with the tips of her fingers. Dully, she mumbled:

"Stupid call…stupid island…stupid Jimmy! And stupid Sheen and Carl…" she threw a quick glance at her two friends, who were by now sleeping as deep that they did not noticed how they had changed their origin positions and were cuddling by now.

If she had not been so frustrated, she would look forward to see the look on their faces, when they woke up. Still…despite all her misery it would be a crime to let such an opportunity pass.

Quietly she sneaked away towards the armature of the Hovercar, found the Hyper Cube and searched for what she needed. A few moments later she pulled with grim satisfaction a camera out. Frowning, however she mumbled:

"He had packed a camera, but not a mobile…typically Neutron. Perhaps he was too caught up in the thought of making some cuddly photos with his dream girl…" she spat out whispering.

Slowly she turned around to face the two guys and murmured:

"And now say 'Cheese' guys."

A small flashlight appeared as Cindy took the photo. Not smiling, but feeling a bit better, she took the photo and hid it in her pocket. At least she would have a defense against their denseness now.

She tiptoed back to her sitting spot, hung herself again over the edge, splashed in the water and continued her speech:

"…stupid sea…stupid Hovercar…stupid storm…stupid article…stupid 'extreme situation'…and stupid, stupid, stupid Betty! Oh how I hope that Libby makes her life a living hell." She muttered, now getting furiously. However she knew that her hoping was in vain. She knew Libby long enough as to know that she would stay calm, no matter what.

"Urgh!" Cindy exclaimed and stretched her arms. A cold wind suddenly blew past her. Shivering, and slightly molested, she put her hands into her pants' pockets.

She froze dead on her spot, as her hand clasped around a certain round object. Her eyes slowly watering, she pulled out the pearl...her pearl and stared angrily at it.

"137 oysters, uh? Ha! "She snapped bitterly at the lifeless object. Its beauty just made her more furious. "You're with the wrong girl…you belong to Miss Perfect!" she added getting more angry and frustrated every second.

"I mean…you're just the product of an 'extreme situation'…you like extreme situations? How about that one, uh? Are you happy? Stupid me…I thought you were supposed to mean something…" she glared at the pearl, a few tears eventually slipping out her eyes.

"But you don't! It's all just a dumb imagination! Just a **lie**! And I…" her voice drowned in a few sobs. "I don't need any more lies!"

Crying, she closed her eyes and threw the pearl with one single movement in the soft swooshing waves of the ocean.

...

_A/N: I hope you don't hate me for the ending of the chapter :) Oh and I figured it would be nice to hear the whole dialogue from Jimmy's side again...hope the chapter was okay! If yes or if not...you have to tell me! Review please!! And I try to update more quicker next time...but no promises :)_

_Love, firepearl!_


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